


Ana #1

by fanfics_she_wrote



Series: Ana [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Ana has strange magic, Ana is a babie, Camelot, Canon Compliant, Gaius adopted Ana as his ward lol, Gen, Gwen Knows Everything, Gwen knows things, Magic, Memory Loss, Oblivious Arthur, SLOW AF, Season 2, Soul Bond, and a sass master, everyone is oblivious, except Gwen, merlin season 2, no one knows who she is, she doesnt even know who she is, three sides of the same triangle lol, two sides of the same coin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-22 13:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 74,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22449979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfics_she_wrote/pseuds/fanfics_she_wrote
Summary: When Ana wakes with no memory but her first name, in a strange room in a strange kingdom and a strange doctor taking care of her, she has no choice but to accept the help of the physician's apprentice, an arrogant prince and a new friend.As Ana searches for her identity, she uncovers more questions than answers, leaving her at the mercy of she who holds but cannot give all the answers.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon & Ana(ofc), Gaius & Ana(ofc), Gwen & Ana(ofc), Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & Ana(OFC), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Ana [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615507
Comments: 14
Kudos: 9





	1. The Curse of Cornelius Sigan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After just waking with no memory, Ana finds herself drawn to helping people she knows nothing of.

_My name is Ana, and that's all I know. I have no recollection of my life, no memory of any family, and no idea where I am._

"Are you all right, my dear?" an old man asked. She thought his shoulder-length hair looked rather funny in its white waves. His blue robes swept the floor and she wondered if he wasn't afraid he might trip, the candlelight being the only light in the dark room. 

Slowly, she sat up. "I believe so. What happened?"

He thought for a moment before answering her. "You drank from a poisoned chalice on behalf of someone to prove the truth, but that was a very long time ago. You've fully healed now."

Ana nodded, not fully understanding why she'd have done such a thing. It must've been someone important to her, otherwise what reason could she have for doing something so risky? She looked around and noticed a man fast asleep on another bed near her, his head facing the other way. "And him?" she asked, wondering what could've possibly happened to the blonde man.

"He's tired himself from exhaustion. Come, you must rest too."

Reluctantly, Ana did as she was told.

The next time she woke, the sun had not yet risen but the blonde man was gone. She looked around for the old man, seeing him soon enough seated at a table with books sprawled across it. He glanced up as she sat up. "How do you feel?" he asked her.

"Fairly well-rested, thank you."

He smiled. "You should. You've slept for a _very_ long time."

"Oh." Slowly, she got up and pulled up a chair to sit in front of him, on the other side of his desk. "Where exactly am I?"

He closed the book in front of him and looked at her, folding his hands over the book. "Camelot, my dear. What do you remember about yourself?"

"My name," Ana answered, "That is all."

He sighed. "It's a shame, that's all I know of you - and that you're quite a heroic young lady."

"I am?"

"Yes. You might not remember it, Ana, but you risked your own life for the lives of others. My name is Gaius," he added. Ana nodded, not bothering to introduce herself as he'd already said he knew her name.

"Well, since I see no way I can return to wherever it is I've come from, I do hope you won't mind if I stayed here until then. I promise to earn my keep."

He shook his head, standing up and going around to pull her up too. "You needn't worry, Ana. You can always help poor Merlin, he's almost always in a rush."

Ana smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Gaius . . . who's Merlin?"

Before he answered, a door on her left opened and a young man walked into the room. Ana assumed _he_ might be Merlin. "Gaius, there's a problem." He then noticed her. "Ana. You've woken." Almost instantly, he turned back to Gaius. "I need to show you something. Now."

Gaius glanced at Ana. "I shall be back soon."

"Ana can come too -- if she's feeling all right, I mean."

Ana shook her head. "No, no. You go, I'll wait here."

Merlin shrugged, clearly in a hurry. "Suit yourself. Gaius, _now_ , please."

After Gaius has closed the door behind him, Ana got up and walked around. From the titles of books and the labels on bottles and jars, she concluded that Gaius must be a physician. Perhaps Merlin was his apprentice? Son? Friend?

. . . All three?

It was a few minutes later when the door opened again, and a dark-skinned woman entered. "Gaius, have you - Ana! You're awake!"

Before Ana could respond, the woman crossed the room and engulfed Ana in a hug. "Hi?" Ana said uncertainly

"Oh!" She stepped back and smiled, shaking her head, her messy curls bouncing. "I'm Guinevere, but everyone calls me Gwen."

Ana nodded again, not sure exactly what was going on.

"Come with me," Gwen said after a while, "I'd like to show you something."

It was only a few seconds after they've met, but Ana decided to trust this young woman who somehow knew her and she followed Gwen through the town. Gwen opened a door to one of the houses and allowed Ana to enter first.

"Oh! I like your house, Gwen. It's rather quaint."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile, closing the door. "Now, Ana, I must tell you something."

She sat on the bed in the corner and patted the space next to her, so Ana sat. "Ana, you must listen carefully to me. Magic in Camelot is forbidden and anyone caught practising sorcery _will_ be charged with treason and shall be executed, by order of the king."

Ana nodded. "Why do you tell me this so worriedly? I do not practice sorcery."

"Ana, you are special. None can remember all that you've done, but I do. I know far more about you than you yourself, Ana, but I'm sworn to secrecy until such a time when I can reveal to you what I know. What I will tell you is that magic in the hands of those working to goodness is not an evil thing, but you must be careful. You must not tell anyone."

"But, Gwen, if no one else can remember what I've done, how do they remember my name?"

Gwen shook her head. "Because I've been allowed to tell them that much - and then too, it is only Merlin and Gaius that I've been allowed to tell. All they know is that you drank from a poisoned chalice on Merlin's behalf, but that was forever ago. Ana, you _must_ be careful."

Ana nodded. Gwen shook her head and smiled, her earlier cheeriness returning. "There is something I've kept safe for you until you've woken."

She reached into a chest and pulled out a cloak - a beautiful one made of velvet, with a silk lining on the underside, in a deep red, with a gold trim. She motioned for Ana to stand up and fastened the cloak over Ana's shoulders. "This cloak in itself is magic, you will soon learn to control it once again. It will protect you and allow you to avoid the eye of many an enemy."

"Thank you."

"Ana, it is the source of your power. You can't lose it, or you shall suffer a great deal."

Ana nodded once again. "Thank you, Gwen."

Gwen nodded as well. "You mustn't tell anyone what I've told you, Ana . . . Shall we return? I fear Gaius may start worrying about your whereabouts."

"Yes, let's."

As soon as they got back, Gaius insisted Ana take a sleeping draught and get some rest.

* * *

Morning - or rather, afternoon - brought with it the sound of Merlin slumping into the room with a brown patch on his cheek that Ana suspected must be horse dung - due to the smell.

"What happened?" she asked, mildly surprised when he didn't answer, choosing to instead walk through the room and through a door on her right.

Gaius glanced at Ana before getting up and grabbing a bowl of water and a washcloth. He then followed Merlin. Ana could hear them from outside.

"Merlin," Gaius said slowly, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I'm not an idiot," Merlin said a moment later. Ana felt the hurt beneath his words and slowly got up to follow Gaius.

"What happened?" Gaius repeated.

"I just want Arthur to trust me. And to see me for who I really am." Merlin sighed.

"One day he will," Gaius assured him.

"When?" Merlin asked, sounding exhausted. He sounded far more normal when he continued. " _Everything_ I do is for him and he just thinks I'm an idiot."

"Not _everyone_ thinks you're an idiot. Although, looking at you now. . ." Ana bit back a laugh at Gaius's words as he trailed off and wiped the dung off Merlin's face with the washcloth.

"Now is not the time to be questioning these things, Merlin," Gaius continued, "I believe that you and Arthur are destined for greatness and that your calling is to serve and protect him."

"It's hard."

"I know it's hard. But Camelot is in grave peril. I've translated the inscription. 'He who breaks my heart completes my work'."

Merlin frowned at Gaius. "What does it mean?"

"Do you remember the stone in the tomb, how it glowed?"

"Yeah. I've never seen a jewel like it."

"That's because it's not a jewel, it's the soul of Cornelius Sigan."

Ana frowned. A soul? In a _stone_?

"You think he's alive?" Merlin asked.

"His soul is. But in order to truly live, a soul needs a body."

"So, if the stone is removed from its setting . . . then the heart is broken and the soul released?"

"That's what I fear."

"Someone trapped a soul in a glowing stone and that's bad?" Ana asked, speaking for the first time since she'd come to the door.

Merlin looked up to see Ana standing in the doorway. Gaius followed his gaze and noticed the slight confusion on Ana's face. Gaius was about to answer when Merlin softly said that he'd tell Ana about it. Gaius nodded and left, closing Merlin's door as he did. Ana took Gaius's place next to Merlin.

"So, who's Cornelius Sigan?"

Merlin grinned. "Don't worry, I didn't know who he was either. According to Gaius, he was a very powerful sorcerer - from before Camelot itself. When he died, he managed to put his soul in a stone, which rests over his grave in the tomb . . . which is in the mines below."

Ana nodded. "And if anyone removes the stone from its setting . . . say a thief . . . then Sigan's soul is out and most likely in the body of the thief?"

Merlin nodded. "Gaius believes Camelot is doomed if that happens. But I'm not really worried. Uther's so in love with the jewels and gold down there, he's got the whole tomb under lock and key - and only Clotpole Arthur has the keys to -"

Merlin broke off as Gaius popped his head in, saying the king requested his presence in the tomb. As soon as the words left his lips, Merlin stood up. Ana followed down and into the mines.

* * *

"Sound the warning bell," a new stranger to Ana told a guard, as he and an older man left.

"Merlin," Gaius said, grabbing Ana's and Merlin's attention, reaching for something on the floor. "Whoever did this got more than they bargained for."

He held up a clear cut stone that Ana thought resembled a heart-shaped diamond.

"Is that _the_ stone?" Ana asked.

Merlin nodded. "I don't understand how they got in. The gate's not even damaged."

"Maybe whoever came in had a key?" Ana offered.

Merlin shook his head. "Arthur's got the only key."

"Where does he keep it?" Gaius asked.

"On his belt with the others."

"Does he ever take it off?" Ana muttered, thinking about sleeping with a ring of keys on one's belt. How uncomfortable.

Merlin smiled for just a second. "Only when he's asleep. He keeps it next to his bed."

"Then it was someone who had access to his chambers," Ana said. "Who has access, at night?"

"Just me," Merlin replied, but Ana could see he'd just realised something. "And Cedric."

"Who's Cedric?" Ana asked as Merlin rushed out.

Gaius motioned for her to exit the tomb first. "Arthur's just hired him today. Merlin doesn't seem to like the man."

Ana nodded. "Do _you_ think it was Cedric?"

Gaius shrugged as they began the walk back to the physician's quarters. "It's possible. Merlin believes Cedric is a thief, only looking for a position in the royal household in order to steal what he can. If he's heard of the size of the stone before . . . Merlin's probably right."

As they walked through the corridors, two guards passed them, restraining Merlin between them. Gaius seemed only mildly annoyed - to Ana's surprise. "He _never_ learns," Gaius mumbled, surprising Ana further by continuing in the direction of his quarters.

"Aren't you going to find out what's happened?" she asked, catching up to Gaius, who shook his head in reply.

"Merlin probably tried to attack Cedric. He never realises that Arthur is as thick-headed as he himself is." Gaius glanced at Ana. "You can go see him if you'd like. Keep him from getting too bored until he gets out again."

Ana nodded slowly, before turning and running in order to catch up to the guards and not get lost.

Once they left Merlin's cell, she crept past and stood at the gate. "Hi."

Merlin's frown morphed into a smile. "Ana, nice to see you."

Ana smiled too. "So, you get thrown in here often?"

Merlin came to stand on the other side of the bars. "I have my moments."

"Hm, and do you often call - who was it? - Arthur a clotpole?"

Merlin laughed. "No, it's a new development. I just wish he'd see what I see. Cedric _is_ Sigan - and now Camelot is in danger."

Ana smiled. "I'm sure it's only because he needs glasses."

Merlin laughed once more, but before he could reply, they heard the rattling of keys and the voice of a guard. Ana glanced to her right before turning back to Merlin. "I must go. I trust you'll get out of here when all the chaos begins?"

Merlin smiled. "Of course."

Ana left quickly, heading for Gaius's place.

* * *

That night, on the drawbridge, Cedric found himself staring up at the sky. But it wasn't him - in his mind. Cornelius Sigan saw the world through the eyes of Cedric, and he saw only the kingdom he vowed to destroy. 

"I am returned," he said softly, a sound so chilling, it would scare any who heard it - and it would terrify those who knew to whom the voice belonged. Then louder, " _Ic cume eft to Camelot. swá þæt ic mæg min fæhþ awrecan! Nu 'ic lybbe ece and ic mæg rædan min burh!_ "

The stone gargoyles began to move, act like living creatures, and in the dark, hidden by the shadows, Cornelius Sigan forced a sinister smirk onto Cedric's face.

* * *

Uther was furious - but more at a loss than anything else. What was it that was threatening to raze his kingdom to the ground?

"I don't know what this creature is, where it's come from."

"There's more than one, Father," Arthur replied, "We've had several reports. There's panic in the lower town. People are fleeing the city."

"You must hunt these creatures down," Uther told the prince, "And kill them."

Arthur nodded, expecting those words. "Yes, sire," he said as he left with the knights.

Gaius stayed to talk to Uther after everyone had left, and Ana decided to see what Merlin was up to. On her way there, she glanced over the balcony and noticed one of the creatures prowling towards Arthur - who'd tripped backwards. Watching them from the ground was Gwen. On instinct, Ana held out her hand and muttered a spell in a language she did not recognise. The creature flew over Arthur. She watched as he stood up. 

"Guinevere."

Gwen glanced around. "Sire," she said, with a small bow of her head.

"That thing could've killed you," Arthur said.

Gwen glanced behind him. "And it still might!" Catching the prince off guard, Gwen managed to knock them both down, avoiding the talons of the creature by an arm's length.

Despite the terrifying creatures flying around Camelot, Ana smiled. Then she hurried down to the dungeons. "Merlin!" she called out, making her way to the bars. She noticed a figure lying asleep against the wall. Merlin was asleep?

"Merlin," she whispered. She waited a few seconds, then decided it couldn't be Merlin. She'd only met him a day, but Ana knew Merlin would _not_ sleep while Camelot was in such great danger. Ana left and headed to the temporary ward, where she'd met the Lady Morgana earlier that night.

As she entered from one end, she saw the king enter from the other. "Arthur," he said, noticing his son's bandage.

"It's nothing," Arthur said quickly.

"Have we driven the creatures out?" Uther asked, stepping forward. Gaius bowed his head slightly and stepped back.

"They have control of the lower town. The market has been all but destroyed." Arthur sighed.

"How many dead?"

"Too many to number," Arthur replied, looking down at his sword.

"I'm sealing the citadel," Uther said after a moment.

"You can't!" Arthur burst, looking up sharply.

"I have no choice," Uther said, "I have to protect those who have a chance. If I don't, we will all fall. Where are you going?" he asked when Arthur stood up and grabbed his sword.

"There are people trapped on the drawbridge," Arthur said.

"I forbid you," Uther said, fear for his son's life blatant in his eyes.

"I'm not leaving them to die!" Ana was mildly stunned at the ferocity of Arthur's voice.

"It's suicide!"

"I must do my duty to Camelot!" Arthur argued, his hand on the door. "And to myself!"

A while later, Ana noticed Merlin slip into the temporary ward and smiled. Slowly, she made her way to Gaius as soon as she noticed Merlin doing the same.

"Merlin!" Gaius sounded very surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to help Arthur," Merlin stated.

Gaius looked less surprised. "Merlin, Sigan's power is far beyond yours."

"I don't have a choice," Merlin said, shaking his head.

"But Sigan is immortal and you are not. If you face him, he will destroy you."

"There must be _something_ ," Ana said, sounding very hopeful.

"There is only one alive who is old enough to give us the answers we need."

"The Great Dragon," Ana said, not even realising the words she'd spoken. While Merlin argued with Gaius, Ana wondered where she'd ever heard of a _dragon_. She'd certainly not heard it from Gaius - or from Gwen, Ana thought, remembering all that Gwen had told her back in the town. Merlin hadn't said it, and Ana was sure Arthur didn't even know the dragon existed.

So where had she heard it then?

"Are you all right?"

Ana shook her head faintly as she realised Morgana was speaking to her. "Yes, I'm all right, my lady. I just hope Arthur succeeds."

Morgana didn't know of the dragon's existence either, Ana was convinced. Morgana nodded. "As do I," she said, the worry clear on her face.

It was then that Sir Leon tumbled into the temporary ward. "Seal the doors!" he yelled as a dozen or so knights followed.

"Where's Arthur? Where is he?" the king demanded, walking towards the door they'd just barred off. "You can't leave him out there. He'll be torn apart!"

"You can't go out there, sire!" Sir Leon yelled, restraining Uther. "If you open those doors, you will die. We will all die!"

Ana glanced around. Everyone was focused on the king and Sir Leon. She had to help Merlin - she knew that. She knew that whatever power he had would be only just enough, but only if he could harness _all_ of it. Ana wasn't about to go out there weaponless like Merlin, though. She looked around, but the only weapons in the room were the swords strapped to the waists of the knights. The door was being pushed open from the outside by one of the creatures. The gaps that were formed every few seconds were only small enough for a small person to fit through - for Ana to fit.

She made her way through the knights undetected, and carefully timed how long it took before the knights managed to close the door again. Taking a deep breath, Ana gently placed her hand around the hilt of the nearest sword. The next time the door opened, she ran. She knew she'd not be able to kill the creature, but she'd be able to wound it.

It took a few swings of the sword before the weight of it felt natural in her hand, and in two more, the creature's horns lay beside her as it took off into the night sky.

The door behind her was slightly ajar. She glanced at the sword in her hand. "Seal the doors!" she yelled. It seemed as though they'd forgotten about the dangerous creatures.

Ana found Arthur instead of Merlin, but she went to help him anyway. His back was towards her, and he was fighting off two creatures. He'd never manage both.

"Evening, my lord," Ana said casually as she fell into step beside Arthur.

"Ana?" Arthur asked in surprise.

After a few moments, they stood back to back and kept the two creatures at bay. It didn't take long before Ana swung at the horns of the creature and it took off towards the lower town. Ana sighed and waited a few seconds before she pushed Arthur aside and took on the creature herself.

Arthur watched in a mix of awe and confusion as Ana battled the creature like no one he'd seen before. Her untidy braid of blonde locks swung with her, and her crimson cloak blew in the wind. Arthur found himself comparing her to a warrior princess he'd once seen in old books in the library many years ago.

Again, Ana sent a creature away howling, while its horns lay on the floor. She dropped the sword and took a few clumsy steps toward Arthur. "You're bleeding," she said softly.

"Oh, yes. There's that."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "Are you all right, my lord?"

Arthur nodded . . . and collapsed.

"That can never be!" Ana froze as she heard Merlin's voice. She hadn't heard it before, over the sound of their swords and the sounds of the creatures, but now they were as clear as day.

Sigan's reply was all too clear. "It can, if you join me. Together we can rule over this land. Arthur will tremble at your voice, he will kneel at your feet."

"I don't want that."

"You'd rather be a servant?" Sigan asked, somewhat amused.

"Better to serve a good man than to rule with an evil one."

Ana smiled, Merlin really wanted to help Arthur.

"So be it. If you will not join me, I will become you and your power will be harnessed to my will."

Ana watched as the blue smoke swirled at Merlin's feet. As he said a spell, Ana found herself reciting one of her own. She felt the energy and power drain from her body and prayed it was enough for Merlin to succeed.

Gaius had managed to get out of the ward. He walked through the smoke. He first saw Arthur on the ground. Then Ana, next to a knight's sword and two sets of horns.

"Merlin?" he called uncertainly, seeing a figure approach him through the smoke.

Merlin smiled and held up a heart-shaped stone that glowed blue. Gaius smiled too. "Well done, my boy."

* * *

When Ana woke up, Merlin was busy bandaging a wound on her arm. "Lay still," he said softly. "It's a deep wound."

Ana sighed and rested her head back on the pillow. Merlin glanced at her. "You saved Arthur's life," he told her.

Ana shrugged. "You were prepared to risk getting possessed. I saw no point to that if the prince were to die."

Merlin laughed softly as he helped Ana to sit. "You're ridiculous, Ana," he said, helping her to the table where Gaius had placed a setting for her.

"You won't get any thanks, Merlin," Gaius said.

"I'm not a complete idiot," Merlin replied, grinning slightly when Ana hid a laugh behind her hand.

At that moment, Arthur entered. "I've come to see Merlin. I've not forgotten about your lazy, insolent ways, or the fact that you called me a _clotpole_ , but I do have to admit that there was some truth in your accusations against Cedric."

Merlin grinned. "Does this mean you're admitting that on this occasion I was actually right?"

"Not exactly, no. It means that I have a knighthood to bestow first thing tomorrow and no one to clean my armour."

Ana lifted her bowl off the table as Arthur dropped a large pile of metal on the table. Merlin's eyes seemed to pop. "All that?" he asked in disbelief.

Arthur nodded and smiled. "Yep." Then he left.

Gaius leaned towards Merlin. "Clotpole," he said decidedly.

Ana giggled, but then she remembered something. She handed her bowl to Merlin and rushed out after the prince.

Arthur turned as she heard her call his name. "Oh, hello. I almost didn't recognise you without the cloak and the sword."

Ana smiled. "I just wanted to ask, my lord, if we've met before that moment in the tomb after it had been broken into."

Arthur frowned. "You know, I know we've not met before, but I can't help but feel like I know you. It's Ana, right?"

Ana nodded. "Thank you, my lord."

Arthur nodded and turned to leave. He stopped after a few seconds. "You're very good with a sword, Ana."

Ana smiled. "I'm not entirely sure where I learnt to use one."

Arthur nodded again. "We should fight sometime. See if you're really that good against a person."

Ana laughed. She placed a hand over the bandage on her other arm. "As soon as I heal, my lord. I trust the look on your face when I beat you will be worthy of the time I shall waste fighting you?"

Arthur laughed, clearly in the belief that Ana couldn't possibly be better than him. She was a _woman_ , after all!

Ana smirked and turned back into the physician's chambers. Arthur shook his head and left. Ana reminded him of someone, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Although, the more he thought about it, the more she reminded him of Merlin - despite the stark differences between them.

Arthur shuddered. One was enough, he'd hate to deal with two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whelp would you look at which fandom grabbed me now


	2. The Once and Future Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ana finds it very off-putting that Arthur should obtain injuries and she should have to bear them too

The jouster raced forward on his horse, only to be un-horsed moments later and fall to the ground.

Merlin winced, holding on to Arthur's lance. "That has _got_ to hurt."

Ana, who stood beside him, hit him lightly with Arthur's gauntlet. "That's the point, Merlin."

Arthur sent Ana a grin when she wasn't looking. He turned his attention to the jousters as Ana turned back. "It's not a pillow fight." He glanced at the broken lance in Merlin's hand and sighed. "Fetch me another lance, will you?"

"I'll get it," Ana said, passing the piece of armour to Merlin and turning to the tents.

She handed the lance to Arthur but didn't let go of it immediately. "Wait," she said, tightening the straps on Arthur's armour. "Okay, now you can go."

"Who is he jousting against?" Ana asked Merlin as Arthur mounted his horse.

"Sir Leon," Merlin replied, folding his arms and watching the match.

As the two men rode, the sunlight reflected off Sir Leon's armour, temporarily blinding Arthur. Ana wondered if Sir Leon would go for it while the prince was vulnerable, but wasn't surprised when he pulled his lance back and rode straight past Arthur.

Arthur dismounted his horse and ripped off his helmet rather angrily. "Why did you pull out?" he questioned the knight. "I was wide open. You could have easily unhorsed me."

Sir Leon removed his own helmet as he dismounted her horse. "I was fearful that I might injure you, sire."

Arthur frowned at the knight. "You had the advantage. You can't afford to hesitate."

Sir Leon remained calm. "I wouldn't have done if I were facing a different opponent." He paused and waited for his words to sink in. "You are the future King, My Lord."

Arthur paused, remembering something. "You jousted against me in the tournament last year," he said slowly. "Are you saying you let me win?"

"No, my lord," Sir Leon answered after a moment.

Arthur faced the knights, who looked rather guilty.

"It doesn't matter who I am! I do not expect _any_ special treatment from you, from any of you! Is that understood?"

They hesitated before slowly nodding.

* * *

Ana was smoothing out Arthur's bedsheets when the prince threw the doors open with a bang, Merlin following behind.

"How am I supposed to prove myself if my opponents aren't trying their hardest?"

"I'm sure it's not happening all the time," Merlin replied, going to help Ana.

"So it's happening some of the time?" Arthur asked.

"I'm sure it isn't," Ana said.

"Now _you two_ are doing it!" Arthur yelled, gesturing between them.

Ana and Merlin shared a glance. "Doing what?" Ana asked.

"You're telling me exactly what you think I want to hear!"

"Yes," Merlin said with a nod. Ana kicked his foot. "Erm . . . No, no . . . what was the question?"

Arthur sighed in exasperation. "That just proves it. All my life I've been treated as if I'm special. I just want to be treated just like everyone else."

Ana paused and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are," Arthur told them.

Ana grinned and went back to resetting the pillows.

"Well," Merlin said, "Any time you want to swap places, just let us know."

"That's not a totally stupid idea," Arthur said slowly.

Ana glanced at Merlin and laughed. "You're Prince Arthur," she said, "You can't change who you are."

Arthur smiled, slowly getting an idea. "Yes, I can."

* * *

That night, Ana was to wait upon the prince. Merlin had done it last night, and he'd gotten it for accidentally over-filling Arthur's cup.

"We've received reports that a beast has been sighted roaming the forest near the northern borders," Arthur told the king.

Arthur took a sip from his goblet. "What's the nature of this beast?"

Uther lifted his glass towards Ana, who approached with a jug of wine. " It is said to have the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the. . . face of a bear. . ." Ana almost dropped the jug as she desperately tried to mask her laughter as a coughing fit. Arthur glanced at her before continuing. "I believe it has been conjured by sorcery."

"Then we must destroy it," Uther said.

As Arthur nodded, Ana backed into a corner, trying not to laugh again. "I'll leave for the northern borders in the morning."

"But you'll miss the tournament."

The prince sighed. "As much as I want to compete, my duty to Camelot comes first."

Uther nodded. "You are right, of course."

After the doors closed behind Uther, Ana let out a soft giggle. Arthur glared at her as she came to set the jug on the table. "You almost blew it," Arthur told her.

Ana suppressed her laughter, but couldn't stop smiling. "The face of a bear?" she repeated. "Why couldn't you tell him you heard there was a griffin, or phoenix, or even a dragon? You _had_ to go and make up such a _ridiculous_ animal."

"Because, Ana," Arthur said, sounding annoyed, "Neither a griffin nor a phoenix exist, and my father's killed all the dragons already."

Ana shrugged. "Well, it seems as though Prince Arthur is off to slay a beast of a child's imagination. What of _you_?"

Arthur glared at her. "You know, a clumsy Merlin is better than a loudmouth Ana."

Ana smiled. "Shall I see you off tomorrow morning, Arthur?"

When Arthur didn't answer, Ana began picking up the dishes, every once in awhile remembering the way he'd described the fake animal and laughed.

"Ana! Shut up!"

* * *

The next morning, Ana tried to leave early to sit with Gwen while they waited for Arthur and Merlin, but like the dark-haired servant, she got held up at the castle. While Merlin was stuck waxing the floors for Gaius, Morgana had found Ana, and she was held up for far longer than Merlin.

"Have you seen Gwen?"

Ana bowed slightly before answering. "No, my lady, perhaps she is feeling ill? I'm sure she'll come by later this afternoon."

Morgana shook her head. "No, it's quite all right." Morgana paused, wanting to say something more, but having decided against it.

Ana wanted to kick herself for offering to help - she wanted to see Arthur's reaction to the farmer they'd found to play a knight!

But she did Gwen's job perfectly and stood with Morgana in the council chambers as an unknown man stood before the king.

"I was there in person. Odin has put a price on Prince Arthur's head."

Uther frowned. "Surely he wouldn't dare."

The man shook his head. "He's blinded by grief, My Lord. The assassin Myror has accepted the bounty."

"I've heard of this Myror," Uther said. Ana somehow knew that Myror was a dangerous assassin that was not to be trifled with, even though she'd never before heard his name nor seen his face.

The man continued. "I believe he's heading for Camelot as we speak." He paused, then spoke again. "I bring you this information at great risk to myself."

Uther gestured for the man to be paid a pouch of coins.

After he left, Uther spoke to his guards. "Double the guards. I want this assassin intercepted before he reaches Camelot."

As soon as she could, Ana rushed down to Gwen's house, to warn Arthur, but she almost ran into Merlin, who was looking far too worse for wear.

"Are you all right?"

Merlin nodded. "Yeah, Arthur's just a bit . . . "

"Annoying? Selfish? Stupid?"

Merlin grinned and continued his way back to the castle. Ana shook her head and grabbed Merlin's arm, hanging it around her shoulders. "Come, I'll help you. It's been a rather long day for you."

In helping Merlin back to his room, Ana forgot about the assassin.

* * *

Ana waited with a lance in Arthur's - no, Sir William's - tent. The farmer in knight's clothing came back and handed the helmet to Arthur. Merlin made sure Arthur's armour was right, then his helmet. Ana handed him the lance just before he left the tent. She and Merlin stood in the opening and watched Arthur.

Ana grinned when she saw that Gwen stood and cheered each time 'Sir William' won a match.

Ana took the broken lance from Arthur as he entered and passed the helmet to William and instructed him on how to please a crowd.

"Nicely done," she told him. "Do you think you can go until the end of the tournament without _itching_ to show yourself?"

Arthur glared at her crimson cloak as Ana faced away from him, readying the armour for the next day.

* * *

Ana was walking past the last row of spectators when she overheard a rather interesting conversation. With the help of the cloak Gwen had given her, she managed to - unnoticed - use magic to place herself just next to them.

She recognised one of the older and mainly suspicious guards, but not the dark-skinned man next to him, although they obviously knew each other.

It was when she heard the strange man ask of the whereabouts of Prince Arthur that her curiosity truly piqued.

"Everyone believes he is travelling to the northern borders, but I've discovered that Arthur's servant remains in Camelot."

 _Everyone except you_ , Ana wanted to say to the chubby guard.

"Who is this servant?" the stranger asked.

"That's him."

Ana assumed he'd pointed or nodded towards Merlin, who was feeding 'William's' horse."

"Why is he working for another knight?" the stranger questioned thoughtfully.

 _Why are you so interested?_ Ana wanted to know.

* * *

It was evening when she finally got a proper chance to talk to Gaius.

Merlin was, Ana assumed, working for Arthur, and Gaius's leech tank was still filthy. Ana glanced at it and thought she'd best relieve Merlin of at least one of his many tasks, but Gaius had entered and started with the grinding of some herbs and she'd remembered the conversation.

"Gaius," she said as she came to stand in front of his desk. "Who is Myror?"

"According to legend, he is the most feared assassin in all the known lands. He is ruthless, Ana, and all who he's killed is all the same to him. He is even prepared to kill royalty."

Ana nodded as she sat down on the other side. "Yes, but do you know how he _looks_ , Gaius?"

Gaius frowned briefly before shaking his head. Ana sighed.

"Why do you want to know, dear?"

Ana shook her head. She was ready to answer when Merlin opened the door and tried to sneak in. She did her best to keep Gaius from turning. "Well, it's only that I've been thinking."

Merlin gave her a grateful smile and she continued dragging out her story.

"Wouldn't it be . . . helpful if we could _identify_ the assassin? I mean . . ." she paused again, but before she could say anything further, Gaius turned and faced Merlin, who stopped dead in his tracks.

"Is this about the leech tank?"

"How very perceptive of you, Merlin."

Behind Gaius, Ana mouthed an apology.

"I'll clean it tomorrow," Merlin said with a hopeful smile. Ana hid a grin and flipped through the pages of a random book.

Gaius raised an eyebrow. "And will that be before or after you've scrubbed the floors and done the laundry?"

Ana let slip a snort but didn't look up as Merlin gave her a quick glare.

Ana laughed and decided to help Merlin once Gaius had gone to bed.

Between the two of them, they used a fair amount of magic to get the laundry done while they both scrubbed the floors.

* * *

Gaius walked in the next morning to find both Merlin and Ana asleep, Merlin on the floor, scrubbing brush in hand, and Ana on the stretcher in the corner.

Following a rather intense water fight, Merlin had sent Ana to bed, stating that he was just about finished. Ana wouldn't sleep until Merlin went to bed himself, so after she'd fallen asleep, he'd left his room to finish up.

"Merlin," Gaius said, prodding the boy's arm with his foot, "on your feet."

Merlin jumped up and glanced around in bewilderment. In the corner, Ana also awoke with a slight shock.

"Arthur may be away, but I'm not. And why is my leech tank still dirty? Where do you get the idea you can sit around all day doing nothing?"

Ana's eyes widened as she felt Merlin's temper rise. "Oh dear," she mumbled.

Merlin's eyebrows shot up. "Wha..?"

 _Here it_ _comes_ , Ana thought.

"Do you think I sit around doing nothing?! I haven't had a chance to sit around and do nothing since the day I _arrived_ in Camelot! I'm too busy running around after Arthur! Do this, Merlin! Do that, Merlin! And when I'm not running around after Arthur, I'm doing chores for _you_! And if I'm not doing that, I'm fulfilling my destiny! Do you know how many times I've saved Arthur's life? I've lost count. Do I get any thanks? No."

Merlin counted on his fingers as he listed the enemies he'd faced. "I have fought: Griffins, witches, erm...bandits, I have been punched, poisoned, pelted with fruit, and all the while I have to hide who I really am, because if _anyone_ finds out, Uther will have me executed! Sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled in so many directions, I don't know which way to turn!" Merlin threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

Neither Ana nor Gaius thought the boy had it in him. They locked gazes as Merlin stormed off and Ana shrugged, unable to respond to Merlin's ranting and raving. He wasn't wrong.

* * *

"Congratulations," Merlin told William as Arthur won yet another joust. "You are in the final."

Arthur rode into the tent and promptly shoved the helmet into William's hand. "Go on then. Your people await you. No one can say Sir Leon let me win this time."

Merlin glanced out as William left, the 'knight' of Daira evoking loud cheers. "Sounds like the crowd's really taken to William."

Arthur scoffed. "That will change when I reveal my identity."

Ana couldn't help it. "You really miss getting all the attention, don't you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and paid the girl in the corner no attention. "Just go and water the horse, will you?" he told Merlin.

"I'll do it," Ana quickly interrupted, remembering the way that guard had pointed Merlin out to the stranger. "You stay here with his royal incapable-ness."

"I could have you fired," Arthur called out as she left.

"I'm not hired," Ana called back with a grin.

While Ana led the horse to the water trough, the stranger from yesterday approached. "He's a fine horse. I see your master has advanced to the final. He's extremely skilled with a lance."

Ana smiled. "He's doing well. Just one more match to go."

The man nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me, what is he like to work for?"

Ana laughed breezily. "Oh, I don't work for Sir William. I'm simply helping out."

"Ah, the young boy from yesterday is waiting upon this knight, is he not?"

Ana wanted to frown, but she kept her polite smile on her face. "Yes, I assume so."

"So, he is no longer working for Prince Arthur?"

Ana shook her head, the lie appearing to her clear as day. "No, no, he too is simply helping out. The prince is away and has requested that the boy stay behind. He's rather clumsy, you know."

"Well, I, erm, I wish your master luck in the final."

Ana didn't bother correcting him. "Thanks," she told his retreating figure, wondering if that had been the legendary Myror.

* * *

That night, Ana bumped into Merlin and a raw chicken soared into the air. Ana stared at it and it froze midair.

"Ana!" Merlin scolded in a hushed voice.

Ana blinked and the chicken fell into her hands. "Eugh!"

Merlin laughed as she flung it back toward him. "It's just a chicken, Ana."

"It's raw!"

Merlin laughed again. "Well, do you know how to cook it?"

Ana shrugged. "I suppose I could make a roast chicken out of it. Why?"

"Arthur doesn't know what to do with it, and has ordered two dinners in order to impress Gwen."

Now Ana laughed. "I'll see what I can do with it. Do you mind . . . um . . ."

Merlin laughed as he removed his scarf and placed the chicken on it before handing it to Ana. "You never cease to amuse me, Ana. Won't even touch a raw chicken."

"It's _raw_ , Merlin!" Ana cried as they parted ways.

* * *

"Dinner's ready," Merlin said as he helped Ana bring the food to their little table. "What I said this morning. . ."

Gaius waved him away. "It is I who should be apologising to you. I have failed to appreciate just how heavy your burden must be."

Merlin shook his head as he sat next to Ana. "I shouldn't have lost my temper with you."

"It's no wonder you're upset. There's so much resting on your young shoulders. Now that Arthur's away, you must take time to enjoy yourself."

Ana snorted when Arthur's name came up, but nothing was said of it.

"What about the leech tank?" Merlin asked.

"Don't even think about the leech tank," Gaius said, dishing out food for the shocked Merlin.

"Really?"

"All this talk of leeches will put us off our dinner," Ana grumbled.

Gaius smiled at her before dishing out for himself. "Where'd that chicken come from?"

A knock at the door interrupted Ana's response. "Come in!" Gaius called.

"The King commands your presence immediately," Sir Leon told them.

* * *

Outside, Ana joined Uther, Gaius, Merlin, and Leon in inspecting the body of the guard that had been killed.

"Can you determine a cause of death?" The king inquired.

"His neck's been broken," Gaius said. "There's scarcely a mark on the flesh. Whoever killed him knew exactly what he was doing."

"Earlier this evening," Sir Leon interjected, "an intruder was spotted in the lower town.

"Then I fear it's true," Uther said dejectedly, "Odin has sent an assassin to kill Arthur."

"An assassin?" Merlin repeated.

"Have you any word from Arthur since he left for the northern borders?" The king addressed the two servants.

"No," Ana said. "None."

"With this assassin in Camelot, we must be thankful Arthur isn't here. Search the entire town," he told Sir Leon, "I want the assassin found before Arthur returns."

Ana knew better than to say anything until she and Merlin were alone.

* * *

Ana could hear Arthur's voice long before Merlin tumbled through the door.

". . . things that I am terrible at - cooking being one of them. But also, knowing what to say to someone I care about."

"Arthur," Merlin said as he stumbled in, Ana close behind. "There's an assassin in Camelot. He's here to kill you."

* * *

"The assassin killed a guard. Your father said Odin sent him," Merlin explained.

"Why would Odin want you dead?" Gwen asked, sounding worried.

Arthur sighed. "Because I killed his son. Odin's son challenged me to a fight. I had no quarrel with him. I asked him to withdraw. Perhaps he felt he had to prove himself. I can still see his face. He looked so scared."

"You cannot blame yourself," Gwen said soothingly.

Ana was not so gentle. "You fought to the death so he could prove himself?" she asked, her face twisting in confusion. "That's ridiculous! I'm sure there are other ways to prove yourself."

"Now is not the time to question tradition, Ana," Merlin snapped. Arthur blinked in surprise. Merlin rarely ever snapped at the blonde maid.

"No one but us knows where you are," Merlin told Arthur. "If the assassin can't find you, he can't kill you."

Arthur turned to Gwen. "May I continue to stay here?"

The dark-skinned maid nodded. "Of course, for as long as you need."

"Thank you. I'll sleep on the floor tonight."

Gwen shook her head. "No, have my bed. You need to be well-rested for the tournament tomorrow."

Arthur shook his head as well, already guiding Gwen to the little cot. "I'll not hear of it. Goodnight, Guinevere."

"Goodnight," Gwen replied, raised her eyebrows in confusion at Ana as Arthur disappeared. Ana shrugged in response and joined Merlin outside, at the window where Arthur was quietly hissing.

"Fetch the mattress from my quarters and bring it down here."

"How am I supposed to carry a mattress?" Merlin snapped.

"I don't know, strap it to your back."

"You're really quite an ass, my lord," Ana said once Merlin had left."

"That mouth of yours is going to be your end, Ana," Arthur warned, pointing a finger at her as he moved away from the window.

"Goodnight, you little baby," Ana whispered loudly as she left.

* * *

Ana arrived at Gwen's early to sneak Arthur onto the field but stopped at the window as she heard their voices.

"One more match," Arthur said as he fixed his armour. "The tournament will be over."

Gwen nodded and helped Arthur with the rest of his armour. "You can go back to being Prince Arthur." Ana watched as Gwen handed the prince a small piece of cloth. _A favour_ , Ana's mind supplied the term seconds after she'd wondered. "Erm...I thought you might wear it...for luck."

"Thank you."

Ana had to physically restrain herself from squealing in glee when Arthur dipped his head and kissed Gwen. She then had to restrain the annoyed groan when Arthur proceeded to hastily leave after an awkward silence.

"You clotpole," she mumbled before catching up to the prince.

* * *

Ana caught the strange man as he caught Arthur meeting William. Ana wanted to kick herself. They'd slipped up! And now Myror had seen Arthur!

Ana followed Myror, knowing better than to confront him without a plan. Magic or not, she'd probably get herself killed. She bit back her shouts as she heard Myror attack Sir Alynor in his tent. She assumed he dressed in the knight's armour and when she peeked in, she saw him disguise a deadly lance.

She rushed to inform Merlin, as he would probably have a better plan thas screaming for the match to stop. But by the time she'd reached the young warlock, Arthur and Myror were already facing each other on the course. Ana watched helplessly from across the field as Arthur was hit with the deadly lance.

Ana felt a hot searing pain in her shoulder and almost cried out. She saw Gwen running out of the stands to him. Ana ignored the pain and her confusion to grab Merlin's attention and wildly point at the retreating 'Sir Alynor'. Merlin saw the disguised deadly point and headed after him. Ana rushed to help Gwen take Arthur into the tent.

Arthur grunted and winced in pain as the two women propped him up in a chair. "His lance pierced my armour." With each shift they gave Arthur, the pain in Ana's shoulder grew. It took all her strength to keep from wincing like Arthur. She was sure magic was involved.

"You're losing too much blood," Gwen said, taking off the favour she'd given him and placed it in Ana's outstretched palm, who held it against the wound, wondering if _she_ were losing any. She decided that if she was, someone would notice.

"Do what you can," Arthur mumbled. "I have to be back on the course within five minutes or I forfeit the match."

"You can't possibly joust," Gwen cried, "you're too badly injured!  
  
"I have never withdrawn from a match," Arthur said sternly. "I do not intend to start now."

"You would risk your life to protect your pride? You have nothing to prove. Least of all to me." Gwen added the last bit quietly. Ana did not remind them of her presence.

"I have _everything_ to prove," Arthur responded. "To myself."

* * *

"You'll have to pass me my lance," Arthur said from atop his horse.

"This is madness!" Gwen cried, but she passed him the lance anyway.

Ana caught the horse's reigns just as he exited, forcing him to pause. "She's right, my lord," she said, sparing the tent Gwen was in a glance. "You're jousting against the assassin."

She couldn't see Arthur's face, but she knew he probably had a grim expression set. "It is of no difference," Arthur said. "I must complete the tournament."

"But, Arthur --"

"Let go, Ana."

"You'll kill yourself!"

"You're causing a scene," Arthur hissed as he glanced around.

"I'm delaying your death, you prick," Ana countered.

Arthur sighed. He could see that Ana was worried. He placed a hand on her cheek -- not really knowing why he did -- and spoke gently. "I must finish the tournament, Ana. You know that as well as I do."

Sighing, Ana let go of the reigns. "I understand, my lord."

Arthur rode off and Ana turned back into the tent to find Merlin grabbing Gwen's hand and rushing out.

"He's jousting against the assassin," Merlin cried.

"I know," Ana said softly as they watched Arthur and Myror tilt.

Just then, a thought struck Ana, as she was sure it did Merlin. " _Unbinde þé téage_ ," they chorused under their breaths. If Gwen had turned at that moment, she'd have seen Merlin's eyes flash a bright gold before Myror's girth snapped and Arthur managed to unhorse Myror, leading to the latter's death.

It was a jousting match, not a pillow fight.

* * *

William, Gwen, Merlin, Ana and Arthur gathered in the tent.

"You were jousting against the assassin. He killed Sir Alynor and took his place," Merin explained.

"I know," Arthur said, wincing as Ana and Gwen removed his chest plate. Ana bit her lip to keep from crying out. Whatever magic had befallen her, she was going to find a way to end it.

"The people are waiting for their champion. It's time to reveal yourself."

Arthur sighed and addressed the dazed farmer. "You must go and collect the trophy."

Ana blinked. "I thought this was going to be your moment of glory," she blurted.

The prince shrugged. "Perhaps this is a time for humility."

* * *

Arthur stood before the court with a bandage sling over his bloody armour.

"The assassin attacked us as we returned to Camelot. I was injured whilst killing him."

Uther was furious. "Odin must be made to pay for his actions. We must strike back at him."

Arthur shook his head. "Surely you understand the grief he feels for the loss of his son? We should try to make peace with him. There's been enough bloodshed."

"Perhaps you're right," the king said thoughtfully. "How was the rest of your trip? Fruitful?"

Arthur nodded. "Very. I learned a great deal. How was the tournament?"

"Excellent. We have a new champion, Sir William of Daira."

"I'm sorry I missed all the excitement."

Ana snorted from behind Merlin and Gaius.

* * *

As the courtiers exited into the corridor, Arthur's checked to see that his father wasn't looking and turned to Gwen.

"Guinevere," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "What happened while I was staying with you...I'm afraid my father would never understand."

"You don't have to explain. Perhaps when you are King, things will be different." Gwen smiled sadly at the prince before turning to leave.

* * *

That night, Merlin was stuck cleaning the leech tank. Gaius and Ana were seated at the desk, discussing some flower root.

Ana stood up and walked to the door. She gave Gaius a grin before taking hold of the door handle. "Merlin? You've got a little. . ." She pointed to her cheek and burst into laughter as Merlin shrieked and pulled at the leech on his face.

She ducked out the door as he flung it at her and quickly closed it behind her.

* * *

Ana was roaming the castle and found herself staring towards the city. She turned to leave and promptly bumped into someone. "Watch it, assface," she snapped, her hand flying to her shoulder as she hissed in pain and swore softly.

"Did you just call me an . . . _assface_?"

Ana's gaze snapped to the amused face of Arthur Pendragon. "My lord," she said, dipping into a curtsey.

Arthur gestured to her sling. "What happened?"

"Same as you," Ana said without thinking. There was silence for a moment. "I'm kidding," she quickly said. "I tripped over my skirt and cut my shoulder on a . . . protruding . . . shaft of wood."

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked, concern hidden in his tone.

"It doesn't hurt much," Ana said truthfully.

"Look, Ana, I wanted to ask you why . . . why you um . . . why it is that you were so . . ."

"Truth be told, my lord, I don't know. It's not as if I've known you all that long. But I suppose everyone worries about the life of the only heir to the throne, even those who've just moved to town."

Arthur studied the blonde in front of him. "You're lying," he stated.

"Well spotted, but are you really going to press for the truth?"

Ana held the Prince's gaze evenly. Eventually, he sighed. "You truly are a strange one, Ana."

Ana smiled. "I try, your royal prat-ness."

"I could have you executed for slandering."

"It is of no difference what you can or cannot do. You know as well as I do that we shall never see such a day."

Arthur shook his head as Ana brushed past him and left, that crimson cloak elegantly floating behind her. He wondered how she had the bravery to address him the way she did. He knew Merlin did it out of sheer stupidity, but Ana . . . no, she really was something else.


	3. The Nightmare Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ana gains a trophy dagger while Leon has a good laugh  
> Also, Morgana discovers her magic

A fierce thunderstorm raged through Camelot, rattling windows and doors, waking terrified children. Up in the castle, it caused great distress to the Lady Morgana. The raven-haired woman stirred restlessly in her sleep and if anyone had been closely watching her, they'd have seen her eyes flash gold beneath her eyelids before a candle by her bedside lit itself.

Following this unknown display of magic, Gwen entered, blankets in hand. "I brought you some extra blankets, I thought you might be cold . . ." She trailed off as she realised her mistress was fast asleep. She stared at the lit candle for a moment and frowned before putting it out and setting it by the window.

Once Gwen had left, the candle's flame returned. Morgana woke with a start and stared at the candle, watching in horror as the flame rose higher, seemingly fuelled by her fear. Suddenly, the curtain caught fire.

In terror, Morgana screamed, and her windows shattered.

* * *

Merlin was cleaning the burnt fragments and glass, while Ana stood with the shaking Morgana. Gwen answered the king's questions.

"I came back in with some extra blankets. There was a candle, but I put it out."

"Are you sure?" Uther pressed.

Morgana's maid nodded. "I blew it out, I swear."

"Gwen's been Morgana's servant for _years_ ," Arthur spoke from the corner of the room where he'd been leaning. "If she said she blew it out, I believe her."

Gwen smiled thankfully and the prince acknowledged it with a sombre nod.

"She could've been burnt alive," Uther said.

"Lightning struck the castle roof last night, that could've started the fire," Arthur offered.

"Perhaps."

"What other explanation is there?"

Uther stared at his son, unblinking. "Someone started the fire deliberately."

* * *

Ana crept behind the king and the prince as they walked down the courtyard corridor, eager to know what was afoot. Gwen's words from the day they met resurfaced and she wondered if the cloak would actually hide her, or if she'd simply be mistaken for a knight -- seeing as her crimson cloak matched those the knights donned.

"How did they reach Morgana's chambers unchallenged?" Uther questioned.

Arthur sighed. "I don't know. There are too many guards. It shouldn't be possible."

"And yet they managed to do so."

"I can't explain it."

"Well I can." Uther waited for the prince to look at him. "They used magic. Arrest all those we have under suspicion."

"That's gonna take time," Arthur commented.

Uther leaned towards his son, putting his face in Arthur's. "My ward has been attacked," he snapped. " _Time_ is something we do not have."

Arthur sighed as his father walked away. Ana let a giggle out and Arthur snapped his head around, looking for the source. "You're going to get yourself caught one day," he called out, coming to a stop in front of an opening arch.

Ana smiled as she stepped down from the ledge. "How did you know it was me?"

Arthur folded his arms. "There are only two people I know who are stupid enough to spy on the king. One is Merlin, who'd have been caught seconds after he decided to spy, and you."

Ana's grin stretched. "Takes one idiot to know another, my lord."

"Ah, so you admit you're an idiot, then?" Arthur asked with a slight smirk.

"Of course," Ana replied confidently. "Only an idiot can confidently do the things I do. On another note, you didn't deny _your_ being an idiot."

"Ana . . . You're looking for trouble."

"T'was a lovely chat, my lord!" Ana called with a laugh as Arthur walked away.

* * *

Ana was crouched by the window outside Gaius's chambers. She faintly saw the door open and Merlin duck back outside. _Silly boy_ , she thought as she ducked back down. _He never learns_.

Inside, Morgana was talking with Gaius.

"What I don't understand, Morgana, is how the fire started in the first place."

"It happened so quickly. It was terrifying." Her voice quivered, and anyone could see the woman was a mess.

"It's alright," Gaius soothed. "You're safe now."

"You're the only person I've told about my dreams. I know I can trust you, Gaius."

Ana raised an eyebrow. Morgana's dreams?

"Yes, of course, you can," Gaius said, still soothing the distraught Morgana.

"It was me," Morgana whispered, terrified. "I set the room alight. I started the fire."

"I don't understand," Gaius said, shaking his head. "Did you knock a candle over?"

Morgana shook her head. "No that's not what happened. I did it just by looking at it, the flames suddenly leapt higher."

"It could've been a gust of wind," Gaius countered.

"It wasn't," Morgana insisted. "It was me. It was magic."

"My child," Gaius began.

"I'm not a child!"

Gaius continued as if he were speaking to a young girl. "Last night was an accident. It had nothing to do with you. How could it have? I am going to draw you up a fresh remedy that will make you feel better, I promise."

"No . . ." Morgana tried to argue.

"You must trust me."

Ana frowned, still curled into a little ball under the window.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Ana hastened to stand and in doing so, stood on her cloak, causing her to lose her balance and teeter backwards. Reflexively, Arthur reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"For someone who expertly handles a sword, you've got pathetic balance."

Ana rolled her eyes and stood properly, brushing her dress down. "Are you following me?" she asked accusingly.

"No . . . Okay fine, yes. I'm looking for a sparring partner, and everyone's busy."

Ana scoffed. "You're the prince, won't they heed your every command?"

Arthur shook his head. "Fine! I was just thinking . . . and I remembered . . . you were very confident that you'd beat me . . . and I may have gotten myself in a bit of a . . . a pickle, you could say."

Ana folded her arms, bemused. "I'm going to need you to elaborate, my lord."

"Just . . . meet me on the training grounds tomorrow."

Ana laughed as she turned to leave.

"And no laughing when you get there!"

* * *

Merlin sat across Ana and Gaius as he taught Ana to make a sleeping draught.

"I was helping clear up Morgana's chambers earlier," the young warlock began.

"Hmm?" Gaius hummed in response. "That's too much, my dear," he quickly told Ana before she added the roots she'd cut up.

"The window was blown out into the courtyard below," Merlin continued.

"Hmm," Gaius said again. "Better," he added, in response to the amount of the root Ana showed him.

"It's odd isn't it? If lightning struck the window like Arthur said, you'd think the glass would've fallen inside of the window. It was magic. You know it was. More importantly, so does she."

"Morgana knows nothing for certain," Gaius said sharply.

"Which makes it even worse. She isn't sure what's happening to her and it's tearing her apart."

"What would you have me do?"

Ana kept silent. She could tell this affected Merlin in a way neither she nor Gaius could understand. He'd been born with magic, she -- as far as she knew -- and Gaius had learned the art. She did not remember, but she was certain she had learnt it. It was unlikely for two people born of and with magic to live in the same time period, let alone area. Merlin sometimes felt cursed and lost. He was sure Morgana now felt the same.

"Talk to her. Tell her she'll be ok. Tell her that her powers aren't something to be afraid of."

"I can't," Gaius said softly. "Enough, child," he added, his hand reaching to stop Ana from adding more of the leaves.

"Maybe _I_ could speak to her," Merlin said off-handedly.

Gaius's head shot up to the boy. "No, Merlin, you can't."

"What not? I understand what she's going through."

Gaius shook his head. "You must never reveal your secret. Not to anyone."

Merlin glanced at Ana, who shrugged in a way that said she agreed with Gaius.

"If not me, then someone else," Merlin said insistently.

"Who?" Gaius asked. "This is a kingdom where magic is outlawed, or have you forgotten that?"

Ana spoke up. "Maybe I could --"

"No," Gaius said sharply. "You too must hide yourself, it isn't safe for either of you. As far as anyone in this city is concerned, not a single soul within these walls practices magic."

 _Except Gwen_ , Ana thought sullenly, still not aware why the other maid knew such things about Ana.

Merlin continued to argue with Gaius. "There are those who still practice it. What about the druids? You said that they help people like this."

Gaius shook his head. "Uther's vowed to destroy them. The druids cannot help her. It would be suicide."

"Then who can?" Merlin was almost pleading.

"I will," Gaius said. "Like I've always done."

"Then you need to be honest with her."

Ana nodded but didn't say anything as she swirled the mixture.

Gaius spared them each a glance. "What makes you so certain that you know better than me?"

Ana glanced at Gaius and said nothing. Merlin answered. "Because I went through the same thing. I know exactly how she's feeling right now."

"You cannot get involved in this," Gaius said. "No good can come of it. I mean it, Merlin. Stay out of it!" He gave Merlin a stern warning look, hoping the boy understood.

* * *

"Stupid smug girl," Arthur mumbled as he walked passed the griffin in the stairwell. "Think she's so much better than me. She's a woman! She can't possibly -- Ah, Merlin!"

Merlin quickly hid his hands behind his back, tucking the flowers into his waistband.

"I need you to . . . What are you hiding behind your back?"

"Nothing. See?" Merlin held out his hands

"What are you up to?"

Merlin began to rambled. "What, nothing, honestly. Arthur, I would never lie to you. I respect you far too much for that. You wanted me to do something." He quickly shut himself up.

"My chainmail needs cleaning," Arthur said after a moment.

"Oh, well...I'll see to it right away."

Arthur stalked off, once again grumbling under his breath. "Smug maid. Just wait until I battle her with a clear mind, then we'll see. Hmph."

* * *

That night, Gwen was reluctant to leave Morgana alone, fearing that something else might happen while the fearful woman slept. "I can stay if that would make you feel better."

"You've done so much already," Morgana said with a smile.

"I don't mind," Gwen insisted.

"I'll be fine. Really."

Gwen squeezed Morgana's hand gently and got up to leave.

"Gwen . . . Take the candle."

Gwen nodded and took the candle as she left. Morgana tried to sleep but woke soon after. Her eyes glowed once again and she magically shattered the vase which held Merlin's flowers.

* * *

Ana had mentioned Arthur's message to Merlin, and he'd offered up his bed for her to sleep on in order to be well-rested, although "Arthur would have a better chance" if she didn't.

It was for this reason that Merlin was awake and about when Morgana rushed in, wearing only her nightgown, hysterical tears threatening to flow. "Is Gaius here?"

"Er, no he's not here at the moment. He should be back soon though."

"I need to speak to him. Where is he?"

"He's gone to see the king. What's wrong? You can trust me, Morgana. You know you can."

In the room, Ana woke to Morgana's voice. "I'm scared, Merlin. I don't understand anything anymore. I need to know what's happening. Please."

Ana frowned, where was Gaius?

"Gaius will be back soon," Merlin's voice wafted through the wooden door. "He'll be able to help you."

"He won't," Morgana complained, sounding rather close to tears. "I don't need any more remedies. They won't do any good. It's magic, Merlin," she whispered, her voice quivering.

"What?"

Ana rolled her eyes, Merlin's skills at lying were pathetic enough. Faking shock seemed an impossible task.

 _You_ _should_ _count yourself lucky_ _she's_ _so out of it_ , Ana thought. _She'd_ _catch_ _you_ _o_ _ut_ _in an instant_.

"I'm your friend," Morgana said, "you know I wouldn't make this up."

"Of course," Merlin said softly, probably nodding that thick head of his.

Ana assumed Morgana's green eyes lit up with the hope Ana could detect in her voice. "Then you believe me? You think it's magic too. Please, Merlin, I just need to hear someone say it so I don't have to keep feeling like I'm imagining it."

"I really wish there was something I could say."

 _Oh, you sweet_ _innocent_ _little_ _bean_ , Ana thought. Then _, where did that come from?_

Ana heard Merlin call Morgana's name. "Morgana, wait!"

* * *

Ana followed Merlin when he tried to sneak out. She followed him down, past the castle dungeons and into an unknown cave.

 _Where are you going, Merlin?_ she wondered

 _To see the Great_ _Dragon_ , her mind answered.

Merlin's voice cut into her thoughts. "I need your help. Do you know where the druids are?"

The dragon's aged voice floated towards Ana. "First you must tell me why you seek them."

"That doesn't matter," Merlin said stubbornly.

"It does to me."

Merlin sighed. "I need to ask them something."

"I've lived more than a thousand years, seen civilisations rise and fall. Do not believe that you can lie to me." The dragon was greatly angered by this, and Ana could tell from the burst of flames that flew out of the cave opening. Ana let out a short squeak as she flattened herself against the cave wall next to the entrance, successfully avoiding the flames.

"I need their help," Merlin sighed. "Someone I care about needs their help."

"You speak of the witch, the Lady Morgana."

"She's not a witch," Merlin snapped quickly. "She's my friend."

"She cannot be trusted," the dragon countered.

"What makes you say that?"

 _Yes_ , Ana wondered. _Why_ _would_ _you say that?_

"It would be better if The Witch --"

"Stop calling her that!" Merlin interrupted, but the dragon spoke over him.

"It would be better if The Witch never knew the true extent of her powers."

"You're wrong," Merlin argued. "I know her. She has a good heart."

"You failed to heed my advice in the past and it brought grave consequences."

Ana wondered what Merlin had done in the past. "I won't abandon her," he said firmly.

"I will not give you the help you seek. If you pursue this course of action, you do so alone."

Furious, Merlin stormed out. Ana gasped and covered her face with the cloak, not having enough time to run. She felt Merlin stop and stare at her, and she waited for him to confront her. After all, she was standing there, a crimson cloak wrapped around her. It would be hard to miss her. To Ana's great surprise, he simply walked on.

When she was sure Merlin had left, Ana lowered her arm. Maybe the cloak really hid her, not just disguised her.

Curiously, she entered the cave.

"I am older than you will ever know," the dragon spoke, "I know everyone in this city, all who come, all who leave, and all who were born here. But I do not know you."

"I'm no one special," Ana said.

"No, but you are. I can sense your power from here, child."

Ana tilted her head. "The Lady Morgana is not to know the true extent of her power, but you will inform me? What gives me more status than she?"

"As I said, I know everyone, and I know The Witch. It would be wise if she never learns the truth."

"Would it not then be wise to keep a stranger in the dark? If you do not know me, am I not a threat to you?"

"You are wise beyond your years, girl."

"My name is Ana, and I am no wiser than the common man."

The dragon studied Ana, this strange girl who confidently spoke in questions and intruded herself well.

"And what of you?" she asked. "Don't you have a name?"

"But of course. Every being has a name, whether others know it or not."

"Then what is your name?"

The dragon hesitated. No being had ever asked that of him. "Why do you wish to know?"

"Level the field," she responded. "You know of me my name and the extent of my wisdom. I already know the extent of yours, but I do not know your name."

"Kilgharrah," he answered after a moment.

"And what of my power? Do you know the extent of it? For I have a vague idea the extent you possess."

"I'll tell you what I know. After all, we must level the field. I sense a great destiny for you, girl, a destiny far greater than that of the young warlock. I sense an unimaginable amount of power radiating from you. It does not sit well with me, as you seem far too weak to possess such power. I mean nothing of it," he added when he sensed Ana's growing anger. "I only mean in a comparative sense. Such power can only be wielded by a High Priestess, or a being born of the Old Religion. I can tell you are neither."

Ana shrugged. "Perhaps I am a great enemy."

"You cannot be. Your destiny is intricately weaved within those of the young warlock and the Once and Future King."

"Perhaps I am to be their demise," Ana said with a shrug. "Whatever the truth may be, you shan't know. I have seen, from these moments I have spent in your presence, that you are a being filled with hatred, revenge, and arrogance. I sense within you a superiority complex. You think you are so much better than us, that you are so much smarter and wiser, just because you are a dragon. How does it feel? To know that there are things in this world of which you have no knowledge? How does it feel knowing that a puny little human such as I have knowledge that you do not?"

Ana left, not bothering with his reply or the blast of flames that followed her to the cave opening. Having seen how it had deceived Merlin's eyes, Ana trusted in the cloak's magic and trusted it would protect her.

She was greatly pleased when the flames circled but did not touch her.

* * *

Merlin was absentmindedly cleaning Arthur's chainmail, when the prince entered his chambers with Sir Leon, holding a scroll of parchment.

"You sure this is all of them?" he questioned.

The knight nodded. "Names and last known dwelling places."

"My father suspects the fire was started by sorcery."

"Indeed, Sire. I've included the details of everyone we suspect of consorting with sorcerers, witches, or druids."

"Gather the men. We'll arrest them today." Arthur turned and noticed the raven-haired servant. "I thought I told you to do that yesterday."

"I didn't have time," Merlin grumbled. "I was cleaning the stables."

"That's strange," Arthur mused, folding his arms. "Because a little bird told me you were somewhere else."

"Mucking out the stables is strange and a talking bird isn't?"

"Merlin, what've we said about you trying to be funny?"

"I shouldn't."

"So where are my flowers?" Arthur asked as Ana entered, speaking. "Merlin, I've found --"

"Your flowers?" Merlin asked.

"Am I interrupting something?"

The two ignored -- or couldn't hear -- Ana.

"I heard Morgana got some. I assumed you'd be putting them in all the rooms. Or is she the only one to receive a token of your affections?"

"Yes."

Ana snorted.

"Er, no. Er. . .what? It's not a token of anything, affection or otherwise."

"I see," Arthur said. "So why were you trying to hide them from me yesterday?"

"I wasn't," Merlin argued immediately. "I mean, I was. Just, erm, I didn't want you to get the wrong impression."

"And what's the _right_ impression?"

Arthur was enjoying this, Ana could tell.

"That I was trying to cheer her up after the fire."

"Pick them yourself?" Arthur asked with a wry grin.

"Maybe. I was only trying to be nice."

Arthur shook his head. "Sword."

Merlin handed him the sword.

"That'll be all."

Merlin got up to leave and Arthur shook his head, apparently under the impression that his servant was harbouring . . . _affections_ for the Lady Morgana.

"Ana!" he exclaimed when he noticed the blonde maid leaning against the wall, her arms folded, one foot against the wall, an amused smile on her face. "Training grounds. Now."

* * *

Ana stood before the weapons rack, her cloak billowing in the fierce wind.

"Are you certain you won't take partial armour?" the prince questioned, slightly concerned. Sure, the swords they used in training were blunt, but one could still be impaled without armour.

Ana shook her head. "It restricts my movement," she said, going back to braiding her hair over her left shoulder in a tighter braid than usual.

"As you wish," Arthur said with a shrug.

Sir Leon smiled. "My lord, are you really going to battle the girl? If I'm correct, she was excellent that night. In fact, one might say she was bet--"

"Yes, I am," Arthur snapped. "There are things that must be proven."

Ana smirked. "Oh please," she scoffed. "I could fight you with a _dagger_ and still win."

"You smug little . . . fine. Fight me with a dagger if you're so sure."

The knight's eyes bulged. "My lord, it isn't wise to waste time on trifling things such as a fight. We must scour the town for the names on the list and --"

"Easy, tiger," Ana told him, wondering where the phrase had come from, and waving him away. "If it's a fight this clotpole wants, you can be rest assured it's a fight he's going to get."

Ana retired the cloak over her shoulders and adjusted her blonde braid over her left shoulder before grabbing the six-inch blade from the rack. She tossed it in the air a few times before standing in front of the prince.

"I'd hate to make you a fool, my lord."

"You're already a fool."

"Ooh, someone's feeling witty."

"Please. You're signing up for death. I mean, a dagger, no armour . . . It's basically death's invitation!"

Ana rolled her eyes before charging. Arthur barely shielded his face. They attacked and countered multiple times, expertly blocking each other's attempts to unarm the other.

Ana kept glancing down, and Arthur kept reminding her to look up.

Arthur raised his sword and stepped forward as he brought it down as if he were to cut right through Ana.

Ana raised her arm, the blade of the dagger flat against her forearm, and the edge of Arthur's sword struck the flat blade violently. Determined to win Ana, Arthur applied as much force as possible, but Ana held strong. She was able to, due to the blade of her dagger against her arm acting as a shield. Again, she glanced down.

"Watch the fight, Ana."

"I am," she replied, then mumbled to herself, "Right foot forward."

After many more attempts, Arthur knocked the dagger from Ana's hands. They watched as Leon narrowly missed getting impaled.

"There," Arthur panted, levelling his sword at Ana. "I win."

"Not yet, you didn't," Ana said, suddenly getting an idea. She raised her arms and stood straight. "Finish it off."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

Ana raised an eyebrow. "The final blow. Take it."

Arthur frowned. He was sure Ana had another trick up her sleeve. She would not stand there unarmed if she didn't. That's why he pulled back on his sword and lunged forward.

Ana glanced down for a mere second. "Right foot first," she mumbled again, before moving towards the prince.

She ducked just in time to miss beheading and kept the heel of her foot firmly on the toe of Arthur's boot. Without waiting to see if it was working, she knocked the hilt for the sword from the bottom, sending it flying out of Arthur's hand. Then she brought her elbow back with surprising force and -- due to the fact that she still had her foot on Arthur's -- the prince lost his balance and fell backwards.

Ana caught the sword and brought it down to rest under Arthur's chin. " _I_ win," she said.

"Where did you learn that?"

Ana dug the sword into the ground and offered Arthur her hand. "From a doctor, I think."

Arthur gratefully accepted her help. "A _physician_ taught you such a dangerous manoeuvre?"

Ana shrugged. "That's what he called himself. My memory isn't very reliable, my lord. I wouldn't trust it if I were you."

She reached forward and pulled the sword out of the ground, swinging it a few times. "Your sword is too light," she said. "Had it been heavier, I might not have pulled that off."

That said, Ana handed the sword over and left. Arthur stared after her, then approached the shocked knight. "Is my sword heavy enough?"

* * *

The following morning brought with it warning bells ringing through Camelot. Bleary-eyed, Ana trudged to Morgana's chambers to check if she needed anything, seeing as she had suddenly been woken by the bells and Gwen would have to rush from her home.

You can imagine Ana's surprise when she discovered the bells were ringing because Morgana was nowhere to be found.

"The guards have completed of the castle," Arthur said. "There's no trace of her."

"Encircle the city," Uther demanded. "No one gets in or out."

As he issued his order, the aged physician entered. "You sent for me, Sire?" Gaius asked.

"Yes. What time did you deliver the sleeping draught to Morgana?"

Gaius frowned. Sleeping draught? "Well, I . . ."

Arthur spoke up. "The guards said that Merlin delivered it after she retired to her chambers."

"So she was safe then?" Uther questioned.

"Yes," Gaius nodded. "Well, I suppose she must've been."

* * *

Gaius grabbed Merlin' shoulder and held up the potion bottle.

"I didn't ask you to take this to Morgana last night," he said.

"I used some initiative, I thought you'd be pleased."

"Those warning bells are ringing because Uther thinks that Morgana's been kidnapped. And you don't seem overly concerned." Gaius peered at the boy intently.

"She can look after herself."

"Merlin, what have you done?"

 _Oh, you stupid little twig_ , Ana thought.

"What you refused to. I helped her."

"This ends now. People's lives are at risk, Morgana's included. Where is she?"

Merlin sighed in defeat. "She's gone to the Forest of Essetir to find the druids."

"I told you not to get involved!"

"I had to because you wouldn't even acknowledge she had magic!"

"For good reason."

 _Please, Merlin. Shut up_. Ana wished she could telepathically communicate with the servant.

"No. You don't understand. You don't understand what it's like. The years before I came here were the loneliest of my life."

Ana blinked. She'd assumed Merlin grew up with Gaius.

"Morgana is the _King's ward_. Her situation is completely different to yours."

"I know," Merlin said. "I've got you, she hasn't."

"I've always taken good care of Morgana," Gaius said, sounding insulted.

Merlin shook his head. "It is not the same. Everything that's good and right about magic I've learnt from you. I'd be lost without you, Gaius. Like she is now. Do you understand why I did it?"

"Yes, I do. But that doesn't mean I don't fear the consequences."

* * *

That night, Ana vaguely heard a whisper.

" _Gestillan_! _Gestillan_! _Gestillan_!"

She recognised it as a spell she and Merlin had mastered together that froze objects mid-air. It was useful when their magic faltered. Verbal spells could always be trusted when impulse magic wouldn't work -- unlike moments with the chicken.

She didn't think anything of it.

* * *

Ana grumbled as she heard Gaius bustling about.

"Come on, Merlin! Out of your bed! You'll be late for work. Merlin?"

Ana sat up. "Is he up already?" she questioned through a yawn.

"Very out of character," Gaius mused.

"Agreed," Ana said and slumped back on the bed.

"Oh, no, you don't. Merlin might be missing, but you aren't. Up, up, _someone's_ got to inform the prince his servant's not going to show up for work."

"Gaius!" Ana wailed.

* * *

Arthur deemed it fitting for Ana to fill in for Merlin as punishment for humiliating him in front of Sir Leon -- so he said. He knew he should feel humiliated -- after all, he'd been bested at sword fighting by a woman -- but he only felt admiration at her advanced skill and cocky confidence.

"There's some confusion as to how that was broken. By the looks of these scorch marks . . ." Arthur shrugged.

"There is no confusion," Uther said sharply. "It was magic. The same magic that was used to start the fire in Morgana's chambers. Where does the trail lead?"

"To the forest of Essetir," Arthur answered.

 _Merlin, you idiotic banana skin_ , Ana thought.

"We've long suspected that the druids have hidden there," the king said thoughtfully.

"The trail will lead us straight to them," Arthur added.

"Take no prisoners. It's time we rid ourselves of these druids once and for all."

Once his father had left, Arthur turned to Gaius.

"Where's Merlin gone to?"

"Erm . . . He's, er, he's not well. Didn't Ana say?"

"He's still upset about Morgana, isn't he?"

"We all are."

"Tell him to stop pining, pull himself together, and get back to work."

Ana snorted. Boy, was Arthur going to be pissed with Merlin.

* * *

Arthur and Camelot guards rode out with dogs to find the trail. Ana mounted her own horse and followed slowly. Arthur was out to find Merlin, and Merlin was bound to be using magic. Ana didn't want Merlin's secret to slip.

Soon enough, Ana picked up Merlin's trail. The boy simply oozed magic, and if one was skilled enough, Ana was sure they'd pick it up too. Of course, one would have to be using magic as well.

If Ana tried hard enough, she could see which path Arthur was likely to take and in that manner, she managed to steer clear of him and get ahead of him. She reached Merlin's campfire in no time and sat to light it.

" _Forbearnan_ , " she whispered and watched as the flames sprang to life, dancing before her eyes.

Just then, she caught a fragment of a conversation. A strange man's voice wafted through her brain. She knew she wasn't hearing this, it was in her mind, like a message meant for her.

_I trust you slept well?_

Perhaps this is what Merlin was hearing?

It was Morgana that answered, Ana could tell.

 _Better than I've done in days_. She sounded happy.

Ana dreaded to think of the state Morgana would be in when she would inevitably return to Camelot. She dropped her head and poked at the fire

Just then, Ana felt a sword pressed against her back.

"Don't move," an unknown voice said.

At first, Ana thought one of the Druids had found her, but a Druid would not wield a sword when they had magic to wield . . . would they?

"Stand up," the man ordered.

Slowly, Ana stood. She wasn't sure if he'd whispered, or if it had been a thought she heard. "A bloody woman."

"Turn."

Ana rolled her eyes but did as he said. Of course, she could easily overpower him and his sword with her magic, but if he were one of Camelot's knights . . . she'd have revealed herself for no good reason.

She did not recognise him, but she recognised his attire. "A bloody knight," she muttered, not even sure if he was a knight or a guard.

"No prisoners," he said, although it seemed like he was reciting the only mantra capable of holding him together. Ana tilted her head, somewhat amused. "King's orders," he mumbled as he raised his sword.

Ana raised an eyebrow. "Is this the part where I run?"

Ana briefly glanced behind the guard and noticed Arthur, who glanced up at that moment. It took a second before he realised what the guard was preparing to do. "Hey! Stop!"

The guard tripped and the sword came down on Ana. Not prepared to see her die, Arthur and most of the group turned away. Those that remained were those who had not had the opportunity to witness Ana's playful banter with the prince. They -- like the guard that struck Ana -- assumed she was a Druid.

The sound of metal against metal is what shocked Arthur and his knights.

"Did you really think I came out here weaponless?" Ana scoffed, stepping over the guard and approaching Arthur. "You're adorable, really."

Arthur stared at her and the dagger in her hand, the blade flat against her forearm. "Thief," he stated. He briefly glanced behind Ana to see that his guard was unharmed before turning back to the maid in front of him. "You're bleeding."

"How observant," she muttered. "One of your knights did bring a sword down on me, or didn't you notice _that_?"

"You know this woman, my lord?" the strange knight asked, sheathing his sword.

"Unfortunately," Arthur grumbled. He reached for her arm and she pointed the tip of the dagger at him. "I'm not a Druid," she said, not entirely sure.

"I'm not going to _hurt_ you," Arthur snapped. "Leon, hand me the bag of -- Ana!"

Arthur had reached for Ana's arm again and the maid had snatched her arm away.

"I'm not going to kill you, stupid girl. I know you're not a Druid!"

Ana turned away slightly. "One of your guards just tried to _kill_ me, Pendragon. I think I'm better off at a distance from you all."

"You stubborn little . . . Leon!" Arthur turned and snatched the bag Sir Leon held out. He dug around for a few seconds before marching to Ana and grabbing her at the elbow in an iron grip.

"You see these?" he asked, holding up an ointment tub Ana recognised from Gaius's shelves and a bandage. "Will you stay calm now?"

Ana sulked, but kept her arm out like Arthur ordered. The prince was by no means a healer, and Ana stopped sulking to help him.

"And don't poke me," she added, handing Arthur the pin to tie the bandage with.

"I'm not stupid," Arthur snapped.

"Sure," Ana scoffed.

"What are you even doing out here? It's dangerous."

"I've noticed, thanks."

Arthur held out the tub to Sir Leon and the knight hastily took it before Arthur got inpatient. "You get back on your _stolen_ horse and you go straight back to Camelot."

"I will not! Merlin is my friend! You can't -- " Ana stopped speaking instantly.

"Excuse me? What was that?"

Ana appeared to stubbornly refuse to reply as she thought up a way to fix her error.

"Well, of course, he went after Lady Morgana! He's only half as stupid as he looks! I'm following the trail as well because I'm sure that's what he did."

"Great! So, Merlin's out here too. Just fantastic."

"Well, he's probably gone further than us," Ana stated. "For all we know, he could've found Morgana already."

"I'll deal with that idiot when I find him," Arthur said. "You go back."

Ana glared at him. "In case you haven't noticed," she snapped, "I _can_ take care of myself. I'm going after Merlin. _You_ do what daddy sent you for."

Arthur surprised himself by feeling admiration for Ana's guts rather than shame at her mockery.

"Ana! Go back!"

"You can't make me!"

"Ana, don't be so childish. Get back on that horse and go straight back to Camelot!" Arthur shouted, pointing to his left.

"Camelot is _that_ way, you idiot!" Ana yelled, 'accidentally' poking Arthur in his shoulder.

"Just go back. That's an order."

Ana's jaw dropped. "You can't make me!"

"I can and I will. I'm warning you, Ana, and this is the last time. Go back home and sit with Gaius like a good girl and let us do what we do best."

"Mucking about like little boys? Because that's what you've been doing _for the last hour_!"

Arthur closed his eyes took a deep breath. He didn't have time for this. "You shut up, and you do as I say. _One_ wrong move and I will tie you to that horse and send you straight back to Camelot with a note to Gaius taped to your forehead. Are we clear?"

Ana frowned in confusion for a second before she nodded. "Understood, my lord."

Arthur nodded as well. "Now get on that horse and stay by Leon. Got it?"

Ana nodded and hurried to untie the reins of her horse from the tree.

"All of you," Arthur addressed the knights and guards. "Mount your horses and move out! Leon, keep an eye on Ana."

The knight nodded and waited for Ana before the pair caught up with the rest.

* * *

Arthur held up his fist, signalling for the party to stop. They edged closer and saw the smoke from the fires of the Druid camp.

"Remember the King's orders! No prisoners!"

Ana, who was between Arthur and Leon, leaned towards the prince. "You're going to charge in there?" she asked skeptically. "Because that's just about as stupid as a simpleton."

"What did I say about shutting up?" Arthur snapped.

"Sorry."

There was a tense silence where the other members of the party cautiously watched the prince, who seemed ready to blow up any moment. "Well, what do you suggest then?" Arthur eventually asked.

Ana hated what she was doing, but this way, she might be able to buy Merlin some time. "Sneak attack," she responded with a shrug. "Allows you to get into the heart of the campsite before all hell breaks loose."

Arthur glanced at Ana. "I'm starting to wonder if you're actually _just_ a maid."

Ana smiled. _Boy_ _, if you knew, Arthur_ . . .

Arthur motioned to Leon who tossed something over Ana's head. Arthur held it out to Ana. "It's a spare," he said when she began looking around to see which member didn't have a sword. "It's better than a dagger."

"But I like the dag--"

"What did we discuss?"

Ana sighed. "Do as you say," she mumbled as she took the sheathed sword. Silently, they dismounted and crept into the campsite, their swords drawn.

The closer they got, the more of Merlin's voice Ana heard.

_Uther doesn't need to know about this. I won't tell a soul._

She knew no one else could hear. Merlin's voice was in her head.

And then there was that stranger's voice again.

 _Morgana, we must go._ A pause. _Who are you?_

Ana missed quite a bit in the chaos Arthur's party ensued, but a certain voice rang out. Ana wondered if anyone else had heard or if it was still in her head.

 _Hello Emrys_. It was a child's voice. Ana slipped away from Leon and stumbled into a tent, pleasantly surprised when she saw Merlin and Morgana.

"Ana!" Merlin scolded. "What are you doing here?"

Ana grabbed Merlin's arms. "I tried to stall them, I really did. I had a massive argument with the prince near your campfire, but they still made it here and --"

"Who is she?"

Ana turned and could now put a face to the stranger's voice in her head.

"She's a friend too, Aglaine."

Ana's eyes were fixed to the young boy.

 _Salvador_.

"You must hurry," Merlin's voice snapped Ana back into reality.

The boy's clear eyes pierced into Ana's bright blue eyes.

 _You are The Saviour and_ _Protector_.

Ana shook her head and turned to Merlin. "Run. I'll try to stall him."

Ana slipped out of the tent and easily hid in the party, thankful for her crimson cloak.

"There, my lord," she cried, pointing. When Arthur looked, she stared hard into a thick forest and Arthur saw fleeing figures.

"This way!"

 _I'll_ _create a diversion_.

Ana knew the words weren't directed at her, but she nodded anyway.

 _Bene læg gesweorc_.

Ana repeated the words under her breath and increased the intensity of Merlin's fog tenfold.

Merlin ran at the edge of a small cliff, above the fog.

"There!" Arthur shouted.

Arthur pursued Merlin, and Ana followed. When Merlin jumped and hid under a protruding rock, Ana made sure Arthur and his men jumped right over him.

Despite their efforts, the guards spotted Morgana anyway just as she slumped to the ground.

 _We're not leaving you behind_.

Ana knew a name for that voice, Aglaine.

 _They're coming_! The child's voice rang in Ana's mind.

"Prince Arthur!" a guard shouted "We have the Lady Morgana!"

Merlin stopped running and watched Mordred kill throw three guards before running off. There was something strange about that boy.

* * *

The party rode back with Morgana sharing Ana's horse. Uther quickly helped her down as Gwen came out to meet them. Uther pulled Morgana into a tight embrace.

"I was so, so worried about you."

"You were right," Arthur told his father. "It was the druids. They kidnapped her."

Ana shook her head and dismounted her horse. She wondered where Merlin was.

"Ana," Arthur called. "Come."

Slightly confused, Ana followed.

"I found Merlin. It appears he hasn't left the castle."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "Well, perhaps he'd just been hiding all morning."

Arthur paused underneath the stairwell. "You're lying."

"Maybe," Ana said with a grin, "but are you really going to press for the truth?"

Arthur shook his head. "Now, we wait."

"For what?"

"You'll see."

* * *

"This has to stop," Arthur said as Merlin passed.

Merlin stopped as Arthur pushed away from the underside of the staircase.

"The King would have your head if he found out, and there's no point denying it."

"Denying what?" Merlin asked, glancing at Ana, who slowly grinned, understanding what Arthur was waiting for.

"Your affections for the Lady Morgana," Ana said, coming to stand beside Arthur.

Merlin laughed. "Right."

"Take a bit of advice from someone who knows about women," Arthur said.

"Well, if such a person existed, I would."

"Stick to girls who are more . . . how can I put it? On your level."

"Thanks." Merlin gave Ana a nasty look for siding with Arthur.

"You can't be her friend, let alone anything else," Ana said.

"Yeah, I know," Merlin said, annoyed.

"You can't hide anything from me, Merlin."

Ana snorted.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Merlin said, sending Ana a subtle wink.

* * *

Ana and Merlin cautiously entered the physician's chambers.

"I'm sorry, Gaius," Merlin said.

Gaius walked slowly to Merlin, then hugged him.

"I thought you'd be angry with me," Merlin said, surprised.

"I was," Gaius said as he pulled back. "Right up to the moment you walked in. Then I was just grateful that you're back safe and sound."

Then the old man turned to Ana. "You, I am angry with," he said before pulling her into a hug. "What we're you thinking? Following Arthur like that?"

"I wasn't," Ana admitted. "But I'll be damned before I desert this idiot."

Merlin sighed. "Morgana knows the truth. The druids told her she has magic, sorry."

"It's not your fault," Gaius said. "You were only doing what you thought was right."

"You both were," Ana said. "What happens now?"

"You must take care of her," Gaius said. "And hope that Uther never discovers the truth about her powers."


	4. Lancelot and Guinevere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ana learns new methods of travel and meets someone who knows her  
> Arthur is dumb about his feelings

Arthur was helping Morgana to mount her horse in the Square. Ana was sulkily doing the same for Gwen, although the wild-haired maid didn't need much help nimbly springing atop the horse.

"I hope your trip isn't too upsetting," Arthur said.

"Thank you, Arthur," Morgana replied with a nod.

"Make sure you return to Camelot before dusk," Arthur told the knight, one Ana recognised to bear the name Robert.

"Yes, Sire."

Ana watched as Arthur and Gwen gazed at each other briefly as the party left.

_Oh, f_ _or the love of . . . lovesick fools._

"Why can't I go with?" Ana whined.

"Because it's dangerous out there," Arthur responded. "I can only afford to send out one knight, and you need a personal bodyguard."

"You and I both know I'm better than your knights," Ana scoffed. "I can't believe you let Gwen go, but you won't let me."

Arthur folded his arms and stared at the retreating party. "Gwen's not a whining child, Ana."

"Why, you condescending little prune!"

Merlin came down the palace steps, cutting off what Arthur might have said. "Where are they going?"

"Morgana's on a pilgrimage to her father's grave," Arthur said. "Take care of this whining child, will you?" Arthur nodded to Ana with his head and the latter looked fit to burst.

* * *

Ana was surrounded by Gaius's books on magic and binding spells that are used on people. She still had no answer to the day of the jousting tournament, when Myror had stabbed Arthur, and she'd felt the pain. She did not need the same care that Arthur did, but she still bore the wound and its marks.

 _Why Arthur, of all people? Why_ _should_ _I_ _be bound to him?_

Ana flipped a page. These books spoke of such magic as myths and things that could never be, yet Ana knew it was.

" _Soul binding occurs_ _between_ _two people who are_ _destined_ _to be in each other's lives for_ _eternity_ ," Ana read. "Can't I be bound to someone else?"

_God help us_ _, please._

Ana jumped. That was Gwen's voice, and Ana was sure she was in some kind of trouble.

"MERLIN!"

* * *

 _Please, God, let_ _this_ _work_.

 _Le_ t what _work, Gwen_? Ana wanted to scream.

Ana tore through the castle, searching for Merlin or Gaius, someone to inform of the voice in her head.

She turned a corner and ran straight into Arthur. "Woah! Slow down, Ana!" Arthur grabbed her arms at the elbows to keep her from taking off again. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, studying her. He couldn't remember seeing Ana as anything but calm and poised -- even when she wasn't. He'd never seen her in such a frenzy.

"It's Gwen -- and the Lady Morgana. I don't -- I can't explain how I know. You must believe me, my lord, I --"

"Calm down, Ana," Arthur said soothingly. "I've dispatched the guards. They'll be okay. They must've stopped to rest."

"No, you don't understand. They're in trouble. Please, Arthur. You have to believe me. You need to send the guards to . . . to . . ."

"To _where_ , Ana?" Arthur repeated the question to the spaced-out maid.

 _Just take the sword, Gwen. Morgana knows what_ _she's_ _doing_ _._ _Morgana's_ _plan will work,_ _I'm_ _sure_ _of it. Just wait until she's in the stream._

"Ana! Are you okay?"

"A stream," Ana said, cutting off Arthur's questions.

"What?"

"There's a stream . . . nearby." Ana repeated Gwen's words. "Morgana knows what she's doing," she consoled herself, the way Gwen did. "Morgana's plan will work."

"Ana, _what_ are you saying?"

Ana stared at Arthur. "Trust me, my lord. You're better off in your confusion. Still, maybe we could ride out and search --"

Ana broke off before Arthur could argue.

_Morgana, go! Please! You must get help!_

"Gwen!" Ana cried.

"Ana!"

Ana snapped her gaze to Arthur but said nothing.

"Fetch Merlin," Arthur said after a moment, knowing the girl would not stay behind.

* * *

"Check to see if anyone's alive!" Arthur called out. "It's Mercian craftsmanship."

Ana stuck close to Merlin.

"Remind me again why this prat decided to join the search party after all?" Merlin asked softly. "I thought he needed to be by his father's side."

Ana shook her head. "It was an accident. I was looking for you -- or Gaius -- and I ran into him. Merlin, I could hear Gwen . . . in my head, like you said about Mordred. But . . . she wasn't talking to me . . . I can just hear her . . . and I was with Arthur when it happened again . . . and . . . and now we're out here."

Merlin stopped short and turned to face the young woman. "Was it magic?" he whispered.

"I'm sure of it," Ana replied with a nod. "I don't think Arthur noticed that it was magic. He did notice something strange, but you know how thick he is."

"Ana . . . if Arthur finds out about your magic . . ."

"I know, Merlin. I know."

Merlin sighed and they fell silent as they continued.

"Arthur," Merlin called. "It's a ransom note! They've taken Morgana hostage."

Arthur glanced at Ana briefly. "Tracks lead off this way."

They silently crept through the woods.

"Arthur," Ana whispered. "There's someone nearby."

Arthur exchanged his sword for a crossbow and aimed from his hiding spot on the ground.

"Careful, Arthur," Ana warned softly as she knelt beside him. "It could be -- MORGANA!"

Just in time, Ana knocked Arthur's elbow and the arrow flew past a startled Morgana.

"Where's Guinevere?" Arthur asked instantly.

Morgana simply looked at Arthur and shook her head.

 _I will_ not _impersonate my mistress_.

 _Gwen, where are you_? Ana wondered.

* * *

Morgana entered the Council Chamber of Doom with Arthur and Ana close behind.

"It's such a relief to see you safe," Uther said. "I couldn't bear the thought of anyone harming you."

"The bandits still have Gwen," Morgana said hurriedly.

"I believe they were Mercian," Arthur informed the king. "We've received reports that Hengist has crossed the border."

"Hengist?"

"You must send a rescue party," Morgana said more insistently.

Uther cast his ward a wearisome glance. "If Hengist is holding her, it would take a small army to rescue your maid."

"We can't abandon her!" Morgana cried in outrage.

"How many men would you have me sacrifice to save a servant?"

"As many as it takes! Gwen gave herself up so that I might escape. I owe her my life."

"She did so willingly, and she will be honoured for it."

Morgana was furious. "I don't want her honoured, I want her rescued! She is more than just my maid. She's my _friend_."

"A servant is of no value to these bandits. I fear she's dead already."

"No! We cannot give up hope! Arthur? I'm begging you. You have to do something."

"My father's right. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

"How can you say that?! How can you live with yourselves?! All of you!"

* * *

 _I demand that you release me immediately_!

Ana was close behind Morgana when the livid woman burst into Arthur's chambers.

"How can you be so heartless?!" she demanded. "Gwen is the most kind, loyal person that you would ever meet, and she has been more than a friend to all of us! and you would leave her at the mercy of those animals!"

"Morgana . . ."

"She's alive, Arthur," Ana insisted. "Trust me."

"Ana . . ."

"Have you no shame?" Morgana demanded. "Do you think of no one but yourself?"

"Morgana . . ."

"I knew she was in trouble earlier and now I know she's alive! You can't abandon her! Would you really accept your father's word over the woman that --"

"Ana!"

While Ana fell silent, Morgana didn't. "I knew you were many things, Arthur Pendragon, but I didn't know you were a gutless coward!"

"Quiet!" Arthur continued in a normal voice. "Perhaps if you both would stop shouting at me for one second, you would notice that I am packing."

"You're going after Gwen," Morgana said.

"Of course I'm going after her. What do you take me for? I couldn't disagree with Father in public."

"Arthur? Bring her home."

Ana followed Arthur out. "I'm coming with you. You can't make me stay. I'll just follow anyway."

Arthur turned sharply. "I don't know what's gotten into you today, Ana, but if you want to stay safe, you'll stop your mouth from running. You're not to set foot out of the castle. I'll see to that personally."

* * *

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS, PENDRAGON!" Ana screeched as Arthur locked the gate to the cell.

" _You_ are not stable," Arthur snapped. "You'll stay here until Merlin and I return with Gwen."

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE! PENDRAGON! I'LL COME AFTER YOU! YOU CAN'T STOP ME, YOU HEAR ME?" Ana shouted long after Arthur left, violently shaking the gates as she screamed profanities at him.

Once she heard Arthur and Merlin's horses leave, Ana stared hard at the gate. " _Ic I Tóspringæ_ ," she whispered and smiled when the lock clicked open.

Although taking a horse would be faster, it would also be louder, so Ana decided to follow on foot. She was fast and nimble, and she was light on her toes.

She faltered in her steps when Gwen's voice reached her.

 _Dear God, please_ _don't_ _let Lancelot die_.

Ana wondered who this Lancelot was, and of what relation he was to Gwen.

It was when a different voice reached her mind that Ana lost her footing in surprise and tumbled down a sandy slope.

_Where are you, Guinevere?_

"Arthur?" Ana asked, wondering where the prince was.

Ana wondered if she was apt to hearing the thoughts of others, seeing as it had already happened with Merlin and Gwen. Perhaps she ought to sit down and see if she might be able to intentionally listen to the minds of others.

As this thought occurred to her, so did another.

If Gaius's books were correct and she was bound to Arthur by some form of magic, there was a high chance she could use her magic to see through the prince's clear blue eyes.

Ana sat down and closed her eyes, trying to remember what she'd read.

She felt dizzy and unstable. Suddenly she saw the green trees of the forest. She turned her head, but the trees did not move. Suddenly, the world spun and she was seeing Merlin slumped on his horse.

 _Am_ _I_ _really seeing through the prince's eyes?_ she wondered.

She saw Merlin fall off his horse.

"What are you doing, Merlin?" The voice seemed like it came from within Ana, and she knew Arthur had spoken.

"I must've fallen asleep. Ugh, I'm exhausted." He sighed heavily. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

The world dipped and Ana was looking at Arthur's hands as they opened his canteen and splashed water on Merlin's face.

"Thank you," Merlin said sarcastically. "I feel so much better."

"Guinevere's life is at stake. We cannot afford to waste a second."

"Ugh."

Ana blinked and she was looking down at the dirt again. She was seeing through her own eyes again.

* * *

She was doing it again.

Except this time, she was trying to reach out to Gwen. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see what the maid saw, but she could hear.

She assumed the man that spoke with Gwen was the Lancelot Gwen had thought of.

_Why does Hengist think you are Lady Morgana?_

Ana's heart swelled with relief that Gwen was still alive.

_He believes he's holding Morgana to ransom. When no ransom is paid he will realise the truth and then he will throw me to those beasts._

Ana frowned. _What beasts_?

She hadn't realised she'd begun walking and tripped over a root, causing her link with Gwen to break as her eyes shot open.

She stood up again and leaned against the tree. "Come on. Where are you, Gwen?"

_I have thought of you often. Have you thought of me at all?_

_She belongs to the prince_ , Ana thought with a sneer.

 _I thought I would never see you again_.

_No matter what it takes, I will find a way to get you out of here. I will._

Ana frowned as a strange new voice entered her mind through Gwen's ears.

_I've not yet received word from Uther that he intends to pay your ransom. I was informed that the King was extremely fond of his ward. Are you not surprised he is content to leave you here to die?_

Ana's breath caught. Gwen was sure to be found out now. Her steps quickened. She'd realised soon enough that if she blindly walked while focusing only on Gwen, she would find her way there.

She only discovered this because she'd tried finding Arthur again and had easily stumbled upon them after blindly walking for just seconds. It was just her luck that neither noticed her.

_How can I know the King's mind when I am locked in your stinking cell?_

Ana smiled, silently cheering Gwen's bravery.

 _If I do not hear from Uther by dawn tomorrow, this stinking cell will be the last place you ever see_.

Ana heard a gate slam and heard muffled cries, probably from Gwen.

Ana opened her eyes and paused. Perhaps she'd see how far away Arthur and Merlin were.

She sat down -- not eager to step into their view -- and closed her eyes. It took a lot of concentration, but when she opened her eyes, the dense greenery had been replaced with a clearing.

And she was looking at a weary Merlin.

"What are Wilddeoren?" Merlin asked.

"Well, they're like giant . . . baby rats."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "Baby rats? They don't sound so bad."

Ana couldn't see Arthur's face, but she could hear the blankness of his voice. "They feast on human flesh."

"Maybe we should go over the mountains," Merlin suggested.

The world turned and a bush grew closer. Ana assumed Arthur had walked towards it. She saw his hand reaching out and pluck one of the berries.

"Er . . . what are you doing?" Merlin asked.

"Wilddeoren are completely blind, they hunt by sense of smell. Gaia berries will put them off the scent. So, if we smear ourselves with them, perhaps we can pass through the tunnels undetected."

Ana's vision was obscured as Arthur closed his eyes and smeared his face with the berries.

"Oh!" Merlin cried. "Oh, these stink! Oh, they're really bad."

"Perhaps you'd prefer to be eaten alive."

Merlin reached his hand towards Arthur. "Pass me some more, will you?"

Ana closed her eyes and smiled. _Idiots_ , she thought as the dense forestry returned.

* * *

Ana could hear Lancelot again when she next reached out to Gwen's mind.

 _I have little to live for_.

Gwen's response was quick and firm. _Do not say that_.

 _It's the truth_. Lancelot sounded defeated. _For all my words, for all that I believed, I have come to nothing_.

 _You are everything that is right with this world_. Gwen was determined to see the best of Lancelot, Ana could tell.

 _I did not know you felt that way_.

There was a pause before Gwen responded.

 _I didn't even know I could feel this way about someone_.

 _Then you have given me a reason to live. Be ready. I will come for you before nightfall_.

Ana scowled but did not break the connection. _Liar_ , she thought. _You feel that way and_ _more_ _about our beloved prince_.

The connection inevitably broke when Ana walked into a stone wall.

"Cheeseburgers," she grumbled. Then, "What's a cheeseburger?"

Before deciding to enter, Ana thought she'd see how Arthur and Merlin were doing against the Wilddeoren with their Gaia berries.

This time, Ana wondered if she could hear Merlin's thoughts . . . could she see through Merlin's eyes?

* * *

Ana saw two hands forming a bowl for water in front of her, and then the eyes closed as the water washed off the Gaia berries. Ana wasn't certain if she'd connected with Arthur by default, or if she'd managed to connect with Merlin.

She had her answer when her sight returned and she saw Arthur washing the berries off.

"Gaia berries worked," the prince muttered. "Huh."

"You didn't know if they worked?" Merlin asked slowly. Unlike with Arthur, Ana felt the emotions within the warlock and now she felt a rising rage.

"Not for sure." She saw Arthur shrug through Merlin's piercing blue eyes.

"Now you tell me?! Oh! Oh, what's that Wilddeoren eating? It's all right. It's just Merlin. You trying to get us _both_ killed?" Ana just caught Merlin's arms waving about wildly.

Arthur paused. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't've risked your life like that."

Ana felt Merlin's anger fade. "Well, they _do_ say love makes you do strange things."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"Why can't you just admit your feelings for Gwen?"

 _Yeah_ , Ana thought. _You read my mind, Merlin_. Then she laughed at the irony of her statement.

Arthur only scoffed in response to Merlin's question.

"It's so obvious," Merlin continued. "A blind man could see it. Is it really that hard to admit you like her? Just say it."

"I can't! How can I admit that I think about her all the time? Or that . . . I care about her more than anyone? How can I admit that . . . I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her?"

"Why can't you?" Merlin asked softly.

"Because nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings knowing that . . . hurts too much."

"Who's to say nothing can happen?"

"My father won't let me _rescue_ a servant. Do you honestly believe he'd let me marry one?"

"You want to marry Gwen?" Merlin blurted.

"No! No . . . I . . . I don't know . . . It's all talk, and that's all it can ever be."

"When you're King, you can change that."

"I can't expect Guinevere to wait for me."

"If she feels as you do, she'll wait for you."

"We don't even know if she's still alive."

 _She is,_ _don't_ _you worry. I can_ _hear_ _her, loud and_ _clear_.

"No, she is. We will find her."

"Come on. We've got a long trek ahead. Oh, and Merlin . . . if you dare tell anyone about this, I promise I will make your life a living hell."

"You mean, more than you already do?"

Arthur smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

"We could talk about your feelings while you walk."

"Shut up, Merlin."

Ana laughed softly and got ready to scale the wall.

* * *

 _I will not leave you here to die_!

"Gwen?"

_I would die for you one hundred times over. Live for me, or everything that I am has been for nothing._

"Oh."

 _As long as I live, my feelings for you will never fade_.

" _Excuse_ me?" Ana blurted, forgetting for a moment that she was meant to be hiding. Her outburst caused the cloaking enchantment to fall and her crimson cloak caught the attention of two other intruders.

Ana yelped when someone grabbed her arm and she pushed her attacker up against the wall, with her stolen dagger flush against his neck.

"Ana!" Merlin hissed from behind her.

"I warned you not to leave me behind," Ana told the prince, half tempted to slice his skin 'by mistake'.

"How did you get here so fast?" Arthur demanded.

"Magic," Ana muttered as she hid her dagger back in its concealed space within her skirt.

"What?" Merlin and Arthur chorused.

Ana glanced at them. "I'm joking," she said. "Do you really think I'm going to use magic and then admit it to the prince of Camelot? I'm not stupid, you know."

_No. No, no, this is wrong._

Ana swayed on her feet, not prepared for the sheer power of the connection with Gwen. She must be near.

_No, not Lancelot._ _He's_ _tried to help me and all_ _I've_ _done is_ _get_ _us both caught. We'll be fed to the beast. Please, someone, save us._

Ana came back to her senses to find herself being propped up in Arthur's arms while Merlin looked ready to start slapping her into reality.

"Why must you put yourself in dangerous situations, Ana?" Arthur questioned, allowing her to use him to stay upright until she regained her balance.

"Gwen's nearby," Ana said. "She's trapped . . . probably in some sort of cage? With a beast?"

Arthur nodded his head towards the entryway. Merlin leaned back and peered around the corner. "I count three," he said.

Arthur grabbed the front of Merlin's shirt and pulled him back when it was clear Merlin had lost his balance and was going to fall backwards.

"The two of you are going to get me killed," he snapped. "You distract them. I'll knock them out."

"We," Ana said, having regained her balance. "We'll knock them out."

"How do I distract them?" Merlin asked before Arthur could argue with Ana.

Arthur put his arm around Merlin and shoved him around the corner.

Merlin stumbled past the bandits. They turned away from the doorway, inching towards Merlin.

"What are you doing there?" one of them asked.

"Nothing. Actually, it's a funny story. I was out walking and I took a wrong turn and here I am. Do you know the way to the Veil of Danaria?"

"Who are you?" another asked.

"Me? Er, I'm no one . . . It's _them_ you need to worry about." Merlin pointed behind the bandits and before they could even turn, Ana and Arthur successfully knocked them out.

They dressed in the bandits' clothes and hid the bodies.

"That actually worked pretty well," Merlin said.

* * *

"This way!" Ana shouted, straining to find Gwen.

_I am sorry. This is my fault._

_You have nothing to be sorry for. You reminded me of who I am. I will die with faith in my heart. That is worth more than anything._

At first, Ana thought the third voice was in her head too, but it was soon clear that it wasn't.

"Release the Wilddeoren!"

"There's a Wilddeoren?" Merlin squeaked.

Ana rolled her eyes. She nodded to Arthur and he held up one finger,

two fingers,

three fingers.

The three of them burst into the room. Arthur jumped into the cage while Ana fought off the oncoming bandits.

"Arthur!" Gwen cried.

Arthur cut the ropes binding Gwen and Lancelot together and pulled Gwen behind him while he moved to fend off the Wilddeoren.

"Lancelot!" Ana shouted. When he turned, she tossed him her sword and got to work fighting the bandits with her dagger. "Ana?"

"What are you doing here, Lancelot?" Arthur asked.

"I came to save Gwen," Lancelot replied, forgetting about the other blonde for a moment. "What about you?"

"Likewise. Get behind us," Arthur added to Gwen as the Wilddeoren approached.

Hengist aimed his crossbow at the three in the cage.

" _Ic bebíede fealle_ ," Merlin murmured and the chandelier came crashing down.

"The tunnel," Ana shouted, "that's our only chance."

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted. "Don't sit there cowering, let's go!"

"After them!" Hengist yelled.

"Take Guinevere!" Lancelot shouted. "I'll hold them off."

"No!"

"Guinevere, we have to go!" Arthur said, grabbing her and forcing her to run down the tunnel.

Lancelot glanced at Merlin, who shrugged.

Merlin stared over the heads of the approaching bandits. "ANA, NO!"

The blonde maid had effectively kept Hengist in the cage, but that meant she was inside too.

"Run, Merlin!" Ana shouted. "Run!"

"No! Ana!"

"Merlin," Lancelot said.

"No, I'm not leaving without Ana!"

"Merlin, she's a good fighter, I know it. I'll go after her."

"No," Merlin said, first in argument, then again as he got an idea. "No. Ana! Run for the gate!"

Ana brought down three bandits before making her way to the gate, Hengist hot on her heels.

Merlin muttered a spell and the rope snapped. Ana just managed to slide out of the gate as it slammed shut, trapping Hengist in with the Wilddeoren.

"Open the gate!" Hengist cried, followed by screams of agony.

"I see you're still up to your old tricks, Merlin," Lancelot said as Ana skidded to a stop in front of them, tripping over a stone. Merlin reached out and steadied her.

"It's probably best you don't tell anyone about that," he told Lancelot, hugging Ana tightly. "Let's agree to not do something like that again, hmm?"

"Agreed," Ana said.

* * *

Ana poked the campfire with a stick as she sat beside Gwen.

"I'm surprised you would undertake such a rescue mission . . . with just the two of you."

"Three," Ana corrected.

Arthur glared at her. "If I were you, Ana, I would shut up and pretend I don't exist," he snapped.

Arthur took a deep breath before answering Lancelot. "My father would not risk the lives of his knights for a servant."

"And yet you disobeyed him and came here anyway."

Arthur shrugged, knowing he must appear to still agree with his father. "Truth is, I only came because Morgana begged me."

Unfortunately, they lie seemed to fool Gwen. "I think I will get some rest," she said shortly.

"We should all get some rest," Arthur said, partially to avoid more questions.

"I'll stand guard for a while," Lancelot offered.

"I'll just . . . sit here, then," Merlin said.

Once Gwen and Arthur had fallen asleep, Lancelot asked what he'd been meaning to since Arthur arrived. "Is it true that Arthur came to rescue Gwen because 'Morgana begged him'? He has feelings for her, doesn't he?"

"What about you?" Merlin asked. "Do _you_ have feelings for Gwen?"

"My feelings do not matter. I will not come between them. Tell Gwen . . . tell Gwen that she has changed me forever, but some things cannot be."

Ana stood up with Lancelot. "I'll walk with you some distance. I don't fancy listening to Arthur's snores if I can help it."

Lancelot smiled. "If you wish."

Ana smiled and fell into step beside Lancelot. "You knew about Merlin's magic earlier, then?" she asked once they were a safe distance from the campsite.

Lancelot nodded. "He's not very subtle about it."

Ana nodded. "I must say, you're rather different from what I had expected, in a good way. I'd only heard parts of your conversations with Gwen . . . I'd assumed you were some sort of knight or something."

"Eavesdropping over long distances is not a very good habit, Ana."

Ana's eyes widened. "What?"

Lancelot laughed. "Don't look at me like that. I promise to keep your secret as long as I keep Merlin's."

Ana smiled, her worry and slight fear dissipating. "Why do I feel like I know you?"

Lancelot raised his eyebrows. Then he frowned. Then he shook his head and offered Ana a grin. "Perhaps we've met before."

"If we did, I wouldn't be the wiser," Ana joked.

Lancelot stared at Ana. "Why wouldn't you remember?"

"I don't quite know how it happened, but I can't seem to remember further than a few weeks ago."

Lancelot nodded like someone who had just been given the last piece of a puzzle. Ana did not notice. "So, do you often accompany the prince on his endeavours?"

Ana scoffed. "Oh, please. Sometimes I think he wishes he'd never met me. He often tries to get Gaius, the physician, you know him? He tries to get Gaius to saddle me with work so I can't even _ask_ to join him. Twice now he's had Gwen keep me occupied with work until he and Merlin were gone, but those were hunting trips, so I'm not really bothered."

Lancelot shrugged. "He seems very fond of you. Perhaps he only wishes to keep you safe . . . with Guinevere."

"Please," Ana scoffed.

"It's true. I can tell by the anger he's currently harbouring towards you."

"He just wanted me out of his way. He even went as far as to lock me in the castle dungeons to keep me out of his way."

Lancelot shook his head. "He cares for you. I should say he fears for your safety. He even went as far as to lock you in the castle dungeons to keep you out of harm's way."

Ana started to argue, then paused. "I didn't think of it like that before."

Lancelot shrugged. "Ana, it was lovely to see you a -- err to meet you, but this is where we part ways."

* * *

"We have a long walk ahead of us," Arthur said, helping Gwen onto one of the two horses.

"Ana, get on that horse," he said sharply. "Now."

Merlin caught Gwen's gaze while packing up their supplies and shrugged in reply to her unspoken question.

"I can't, my lord," Ana admitted.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

Ana shrugged. "I mean, I can't mount the horse."

"Why not?" Arthur demanded, stalking towards her.

Ana shifted slightly and opened her cloak. "I only noticed it late last night, once it had soaked through."

"Oh, God," Arthur mumbled, taking in the size of the bloodstain on Ana's dress. "And you dressed the wound by yourself?"

Ana nodded. "I'm fine, really. I just can't -- Arthur!"

With a slight eye roll, Arthur swept Ana up and set her atop the horse. "Now shut up, and sit still. You're like a persistent little _pet_ that won't let me leave in peace. Next thing I know, you'll be following me hunting!"

Ana shook her head. "It's not like that, my lord. You can't expect me to sit back when my friends need help. I don't doubt in your rescuing abilities, I just don't see the sense in not offering up my skills as well."

Arthur didn't respond to her. Instead, he took the reins of Gwen's horse and gently guided it towards Camelot. "Merlin, hurry up."

* * *

"Ana, wait."

Ana paused and waited for Arthur to catch up.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday and the day before. In hindsight, it would've been better if I had let you join us."

"It's quite all right, my lord. I understand your concerns."

Arthur shook his head. "I'm not sure you do, Ana. This isn't just about you being a woman. If my father were to learn that a serving girl is far more trained than his own knights, he would instantly accuse you of witchcraft. You'd be dead within the hour. I know I'm not the best at it, but I'm really only trying to protect you. You're always injuring yourself, doing simple tasks. You might be skilled on a battlefield and in combat, but you are still vulnerable and . . . well, weak."

Ana smiled. "I do understand, my lord. But the pros outweigh the cons by far. You must admit it, that I am a greater asset than I am a liability. It's been proven that I know my way around, seeing as I made it to the Veil of Danaria before you."

"That reminds me, Ana, what was going on with you? How did you know where to find Gwen? How did you she and Morgana had fallen into a trap?"

Ana hesitated. "Call it a hunch."

"I know you're lying, Ana."

"I probably am," Ana said with a smile. "But are you really going to press for the truth?"

"One day, Ana. One day, I will. And on that day . . . I don't know what you'll do."


	5. Beauty and the Beast (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin learns about the magical ties Ana has  
> Uther marries a troll

Merlin had been up at the crack of dawn and was busy ever since for Arthur, so that meant Ana was left to help Gaius.

She walked with Gaius through the lower town, laden with pots.  
  
"Keep up, Ana. We've got a busy day ahead."  
  
"It's a busy day every day, Gaius. Between you, Arthur, and Merlin, it's impossible _not_ to be busy!"  
  
"Do stop moaning, Ana. At least the work's interesting."  
  
"Gaius, we're collecting pots." Ana gave him a bleak expression. "What could possibly be interesting while --"

Ana broke off as a cloaked figure grabbed her arm.   
  
"Please, we seek Uther Pendragon," he rasped. "Where can he be found?"  
  
Ana hesitated and the man pressed a royal seal into her hand. "We have urgent business with the King," he said.

Gaius leaned forward. "I'm sorry, any business you have with the King will have to be pursued through the usual channels." He glanced into Ana's hand. "But this is the seal of the House of Tregor. Where did you get this?"  
  
"It does not belong to me," the man said. He turned to a tall, hooded figure behind him. Ana sneered at the filthy cloak. It smelled putrid. The hooded figure pulled back on the hood.

"It belongs to me," the woman said.

Ana's eyes widened. _Why_ _on_ _earth should a woman so pristine_ _don_ _a cloak so dirty? Especially when her_ _attire_ _is so_ _eerily_ _beautiful?_

Gaius bowed. "My Lady."

Ana continued staring at the woman in shock. _Why_ _would_ _her cloak stink like garbage anyway? Did she dig it_ _up_ _from a_ \--

"Ana!" Gaius hissed.

Ana quickly bowed too.

* * *

In the council chamber, Ana continued to frown as she studied the woman.

Uther seemed delighted. "Lady Catrina, is it really you?"

The woman nodded her head. "I can hardly believe it myself."

"We had tidings from the north that the House of Tregor had fallen to invaders."

She bowed her head slightly. "All that you heard was true, My Lord, and worse."  
  
"Your father, the King?"

"Gone, Sire. The enemy attacked without warning. We were outnumbered five to one. He could not endure. I would never have survived had it not been for my faithful servant Jonas. But we did survive, and we have made it this far . . ."

Catrina swooned and Uther caught her effortlessly. Ana rolled her eyes. _Pathetic_.

"Forgive me, My Lord. I fear my trials have taken a toll."

Ana rolled her eyes again, faking intense disgust.   
  
"Your sufferings are beyond imagining, My Lady. It would be an honour to help you in any way we can."

"A bed for the night would be most welcome."   
  
"And consider yourselves our esteemed guests. It's the least we can do."

"Thank you."

Ana sneered at the Lady Catrina. _Something's off about that woman_.

* * *

Ana and Merlin walked down the corridor, Ana still hung up on oddness of this Lady Catrina.

"She's very brave," Merlin commented.

"Hmm," Ana agreed.

"It's just terrible what she's been through."

"Terrible, indeed."

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, pausing and turning to face Ana.

"Nothing . . ."

"Merlin!" The boy turned to Arthur. "Job for you."

"Work, work, work," Merlin grumbled as he left, probably to show that woman to her guest chambers.

* * *

Arthur had specifically gone up to Ana and almost begged that she wait upon them with Gwen instead of Merlin, seeing as the other servant was far too clumsy and he didn't want to embarrass his father in front of their guest.

Merlin -- who had been standing right next to Ana -- readily agreed and was gone within seconds.

Ana sighed and sought out Gwen.

"Well, this is wonderful. Thank you." Ana could still sense something off about the woman and stood in her spot, tightly gripping her wine pitcher.

"It's an honour," Uther responded. "The Houses of Tregor and Pendragon have been allies for as . . . well, as long as anyone can remember."

"My father often spoke of you, My Lord."

"And I will remember him always."

"I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to meet him," Arthur said.

"I'm sorry too, for the House of Tregor is no more."

"Well, no, Catrina," Uther argued. "It lives on in you."

"I only wish that were true."

Ana rolled her eyes.

"It is, My Lady. Your courage, your modesty. And you are as you always were, ever since you were a child."

"I fear I am much changed since then, my Lord." Catrina bowed her head.   
  
"Oh, yes, it's true. You are far more beautiful now."

Arthur looked completely appalled, while Morgana smiled. Ana stifled a giggle, successfully masking it as a cough, but Arthur saw the smile upon her face and sent her a furious glare. Gwen was lucky enough to catch Morgana's gaze instead and share her smile.

Arthur gave a fake yawn. "I'm sorry, hard day's training. If you'll excuse me."

Catrina nodded with a smile. "Of course."

"Arthur," the king greeted with a nod.   
  
"I should retire myself," Morgana stated, getting up.

"Morgana," the king said, again by way of greeting.

"Gwen, if you don't mind," Morgana asked. The maid beside Ana gave her a small smile and left behind Morgana.

Ana glared at the three retreating figures.

 _You're_ _all nasty_ _little_ _creatures. Leaving me here with_ them. _How_ _could_ _you be so_ \--

"Ana," Arthur said expectantly as he paused at the door. "Aren't you mean to be polishing my armour?"

Ana raised an eyebrow, but Arthur said nothing further.

"If you'll excuse me, my lord. My lady." Ana bowed quickly before rushing through the door that Arthur held open.

"You didn't ask me to polish your armour," Ana said with a frown.

"No," Arthur agreed. He glanced towards the doors. "But if I left you in there, you might stab me with that dagger of yours."

Ana smiled. "Thank you, my lord."

"Your politeness never ceases to puzzle me," Arthur mused. "How can you be so callous and well-behaved at the same time?"

"It's a trait few have perfected. Here, have some wine," she added, dumping the pitcher in Arthur's hands before leaving the stunned prince in the corridor.

* * *

Ana stumbled into Gaius's chambers and quickly closed the door behind her.

"Aren't you supposed to be waiting on the king with Gwen?"

Ana nodded. "Yeah, but Uther and that stinking woman are busy making googly eyes at each other. Arthur got me out, acting as if I've forgotten to polish his armour."

"Well . . . isn't that _kind_ of Arthur?"

Ana snorted. "Maybe. Where's Merlin?"

As she asked, the warlock in questions stormed in and slammed a bottle down on the table.   
  
"She didn't ask for it," he said. "She didn't need it. She didn't even want it."  
  
"Interesting," Gaius mused.   
  
"If you say so."

"When I treated her as a child, it was for an incurable disease. Catrina had a rare bone disorder affecting her joints. She often had difficulty walking, especially after a long ride. My tonic was the only thing that brought her relief."

Ana raised her eyebrows. "She walks as well as you or I."

"So I noticed."

"So . . . the tonic was some kind of test?" Merlin asked.

"Indeed. And I'm starting to wonder if the Lady Catrina is really the Lady Catrina at all."

* * *

Ana followed Uther and Catrina on their little ride while Merlin went to snoop in the woman's chambers.

"How wonderful it is to sit here with you, Uther. It is a terrible thing to find oneself alone in the world, suddenly, cruelly alone."

Ana hid in the bushes. She closed her cloak around her and lifted the hood. _Please hide me_ , she prayed.

"When Ygraine died," Uther said. "I feared I'd never recover."

Ana watched as Catrina gave the food a disgusted look and tossed it in the river.

"But then as time passed, I've become used to being alone."

"But you have Morgana and Arthur. Surely they are a comfort to you?"

In the bushes, Ana mimicked Catrina with twisted features.

"They are. Of course they are, both of them."

"It must be hard to be king and father both. To shoulder all that responsibility all by yourself. But I feel sure, My Lord, that you and I shall not remain alone forever. We will find love anew. A kindred spirit to share the burden of this life."

"I believe we will."

 _Oh, for_ _God's_ _sake. This is_ _pathetic_.

* * *

Arthur was fast asleep when Merlin and Ana snuck in. Ana swiped the mirror from his bedside and handed it to Merlin, who floated it out the window and down to see Catrina.

" _Scéawere, folge min bebod_."

Ana glanced at Arthur, who was still asleep, and leaned against the wall next to the window, picking at her nails.

"I'm sure you both have a very good explanation for this."

Merlin spun around and the mirror crashed on the ground. Ana glanced out the window behind Merlin.

"Yes," Merlin told Arthur. "No. Er . . ."  
  
"Apparently I'm wrong."

Arthur shoved Merlin out of the way and looked out the window, to the broken mirror.  
  
"Please tell me you weren't spying on Lady Catrina."  
  
"It's not what it seems."

"Yes, Merlin. It's exactly what it seems. You have led a sheltered life, you have no social skills whatsoever, and Catrina is, I admit, an attractive woman. I understand completely. And if I ever find you doing it again, I'll feed you to the dogs. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes, absolutely, Sire."

"If I may, my lord," Ana began.

"No, you may not."

"The mirror was already hanging there with a rope when we came in. We only came in, might I add, because we saw it from the ground."

Arthur placed his hands on his hips. "Are you insinuating that _I_ was spying on Lady Catrina?"

Ana shrugged. "I'm only saying that we were trying to bring the mirror back up. Good night, your royal Peeping Tom."

Ana rushed out with a laugh, pulling Merlin behind her.

* * *

"Where's Gaius?" Ana asked.

Merlin snorted. "He's gone to inform Uther that Catrina's a troll."

"She's a _what_?"

Merlin glanced at Ana, who had completely abandoned the book she'd been reading.

"You were asleep when we went last night and followed her. God, she's ugly."

Ana nodded. "Oh . . . okay. Don't question the surreal. Got it."

Gaius walked in at that moment.

"Please don't say anything, Merlin."  
  
"I wasn't going to say anything."  
  
"You were going to say, 'I told you so'."  
  
"Okay. I was. But I . . . I'm not going to now."  
  
"Uther didn't take to it well." Gaius said with a sigh.   
  
"You see? I told you -- sorry."  
  
"But I know him, Merlin. He's a proud man, but he's not stupid. He will reflect on what I said, I'm sure he will."  
  
"Let's hope you're right," Ana mumbled.

* * *

"It's no good," Gaius told Ana and Merlin a day later. "I can tell him she's a troll until I'm blue in the face, he simply won't listen. He sees a charming, beautiful woman."

"Yeah, with a body like a tree trunk," Merlin muttered.

"But we only know that because you saw her in the troll form," Ana said.

"So, what do we do?" Merlin asked.

"We must open Uther's eyes, show her for what she really is." Gaius sounded rather dejected.

"Using magic?" Merlin asked, surprised. Gaius constantly reminded them not to use their magic unnecessarily.

"It's the only way to reveal her true form," the aged physician said.

"But she never leaves his side," Ana said with a frown.

"I know."

"You want me to use magic in front of the King?"

"Yes, Merlin, I do."

"I--I'd never get away with it."

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I know how dangerous this is, but we cannot allow it to gain any further control over the King. Who knows what the consequences might be?"

"I could do it," Ana offered.

"Uther would have you beheaded," Merlin said.

Ana shrugged. "Only if he sees me. And if he sees me, only if he can find me after."

"My dear, you understand the risks of using magic before the king."

"I understand, Gaius. That's why I'll do it, and not Merlin. There's just _one_ problem."

"Hmm?"

"I know _nothing_ about troll magic."

"Then we have work to do."

* * *

Gaius had fallen asleep on the book he'd been reading. Ana was scrutinising the pages of another.

Merlin studied Ana. He remembered the first time he'd seen her. She'd burst through the crowd and drank from the poisoned chalice before he could. He hadn't the slightest clue who she was, but she'd taken the poison on his behalf.

He remembered that Gaius had administered an antidote, but it had taken her so long to wake. That night when Arthur had almost died, he remembered that Ana had woken . . . but she'd slipped back into a deep sleep until the rise of Cornelius Sigan.

He remembered being so surprised when she'd simply snatched the goblet and drank its contents. He remembered Uther stating that "the boy is delusional."

Funnily enough, Merlin remembered nothing else regarding Ana and her recovery.

"Ana."

Ana lifted her head and tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "Hmm?"

"Do you remember drinking from that poisoned chalice?"

Ana shook her head. "No. Mind, I'm only being brutally honest, Merlin, but I really can't fathom why I did it. If I had known you prior . . . if you had been someone close to me, I'm sure you'd have mentioned it."

Ana sighed. She glanced at the book before folding her hands over it and turning to Merlin. "It's like that night when Sigan had sent those creatures to destroy Camelot. I'd just woken then . . . I assumed I'd have formed some sort of attachment with you, Gaius and Gwen before drinking from that chalice, but I still don't think I had with Arthur. Yet . . . yet I still went out there to help him . . . to help you."

"I know. I thought it was you. I could feel myself weakening, I thought that was the end . . . that I'd failed. And then there was this immense power and strength . . . and I knew I could succeed."

"I couldn't let you go out there with no backup. You and the prince both, heroic fools. You both rush in with no plan because someone or something you care about is in danger. It's suicidal, in my opinion." She gave Merlin a smile and pinched his cheek playfully. "But it's what I love most about you both. I can't deny that I've grown to love Arthur the way any subject would a good ruler, but he _can_ be . . ."

"An arse?"

Ana laughed softly. "Yes, basically."

Merlin shrugged. "Well, Arthur's grown to love you too. I don't know what he sees you as, but it's definitely not just a maid. I've been meaning to ask you . . . how did you find Gwen when Hengist had taken her?"

Ana shook her head. "Merlin, I can't even begin to explain it. I can . . . I can read thoughts, Merlin. That's how I knew she was in danger. She was calling out for help, praying desperately. I heard . . . and I'd run into Arthur. After that, I intentionally looked for her. Merlin, I don't know what happened. I listened to her conversations and I walked with my eyes closed."

"So, magic was definitely involved."

"I'm sure of it. I travelled miles and miles in seconds. I know this because I listened to you and Arthur and I knew that we were acres apart and the next thing I almost stumbled into view from within the trees."

"Ah, so it was you, then?"

"Yes. Merlin . . . I know it's probably invading on your privacy . . . kind of . . . yours and Arthur's . . . but I can . . . well, I can . . ."

"You can what, Ana?"

"I can see the world through your eyes," she whispered. "I can hear what you hear, feel what you feel."

"That's impossible, Ana. I've read about magic like that. Only a --"

"A High Priestess, I know. But, you have to believe me. And it's only with you and the prince. I tried with Gwen, but the best I could was pry into her mind."

"But . . . how?"

Ana shook her head. "I don't know, Merlin. But it's true."

Merlin shrugged. "It just seems slightly odd."

"It is. It's awful, sometimes. When you or Arthur are in pain, distress, afraid, or extremely joyful, my intrusion is involuntary. You dressed Arthur's wound after the jousting tournament, yes?"

Merlin nodded. Ana cast the sleeping Gaius a glance before pulling the sleeve of her dress down to expose her shoulder. "What is that?" Merlin asked.

"The same wound, Merlin. The exact same wound."

Merlin reached out to touch it.

"It doesn't hurt, not if I do anything. If you go and poke _Arthur_ I'm going to feel it."

"How do you know?"

"Well . . . I poked Arthur, of course."

"Ana . . . I don't know."

"Merlin, I'll cut you to prove it, don't test me."

Merlin rolled his eyes. Ana pulled out her dagger -- her _stolen_ dagger, she loved that phrase -- and grabbed his arm. "I'll really do it."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "I know. And if you're lying . . .?"

"I'm not."

"Do it, then."

Ana sighed and raised his sleeve. Her intention was to just slightly pierce Merlin's skin. After all, she'd have to feel the same pain. But at that moment, Gaius heaved a very loud snore and shocked both Ana and Merlin. Ana's hand slipped and cut a deep gash along Merlin's forearm. Ana cursed with strange words and scrambled for Gaius's medical kit.

She quickly bandaged her arm while Merlin did the same to his. Suddenly, Merlin laughed. "What did you just say?"

"When?"

"When you cut us?"

"I said . . . hmm . . . I said 'shit truck' . . . what's a truck?"

Merlin shrugged. "Beats me." He glanced at his arm, then at Ana's, both bandaged tightly.

"What are you two doing over there?"

Ana and Merlin quickly stood, both of them hiding their left arms behind their backs. "Nothing," they chorused.

Gaius eyed them wearily but said nothing.

* * *

"Here," Merlin said. "The spell of revelation. By which the true nature of the thing may be revealed."  
  
"But this applies only to objects, things, not to living creatures." Gaius didn't seem convinced.   
  
"I know. The principle's the same, isn't it?"

"What other choice do we have?" Ana asked.   
  
"Very well," Gaius said. "But choose your moment carefully. Trolls are vicious creatures."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Gaius called.

"The King requests your presence in the council chambers," a guard told the physician. Merlin and Ana shared a game before following.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming," Uther said. "You are, no doubt, wondering why I have gathered you here today. Though we live in dark times, today I bring you light, and love. It gives me the greatest pleasure to inform you that the Houses of Tregor and Pendragon are to be united in the closest bond of all. I am to marry Lady Catrina of Tregor. I am to marry Lady Catrina tomorrow. This union heralds a new dawn for the kingdom, a new beginning...

Ana whispered the spell from behind a pillar. " _Hierste þæt íecen sóna_."

". . .and a new queen for all here in Camelot."

Ana repeated the spell with more concentration. " _Hierste þæt íecen sóna_."

"I could not hope to have made a better match."

And again, only slightly above a whisper. " _Hierste þæt íecen sóna_."

"I hope you will all share in our joy."

As the crowd applauded, Ana's view of Catrina vanished.

"Thank you," the king concluded.

Ana sighed. She'd missed her chance.

* * *

Merlin was walking by when he overheard a conversation from within Lady Catrina's guest chambers.

"What happened?" the woman demanded.   
  
"I'm sorry, Mistress. I was not prepared." Merlin shuddered. The man with a _tail_.

"Quickly, my potion."

 _Ah, she needs a potion_ , Merlin thought.   
  
"It was that serving girl. It seems she has magic."

 _Oh no_.

"Do not concern yourself," the troll said. "I resisted her easily enough."  
  
"But there's no telling what she'll do next! She could ruin everything!"

"That cannot be allowed to happen!"  
  
"What would you have me do, Mistress?"

"I think it's time we set a trap."

"Merlin."

The servant jumped and turned to find Arthur. "I wasn't spying on the tr -- on Lady Catrina!"

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked sarcastically.

Merlin nodded. "Yes . . . I was . . . spying . . . on Jonas."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "On Jonas?"

 _What have_ _I_ _done now?_ "Yes, on Jonas."

"Why?"

 _I'll_ _never live this down_. "I was . . . Nevermind, you wouldn't understand."

"Oh really?"

 _What do_ _I_ _say_ now _? Ana, help!_ "Yes."

"Try me. I can be very understanding sometimes."

 _Ana! You_ _could_ _hear Gwen! Hear me now!_ "I was only . . . I only meant to . . ."

Arthur folded his arms. "Yes?"

"Umm . . ." _Ana!_

"Yes, you only meant to . . . what?"

Arthur was enjoying this, Merlin could tell.

"He was only trying to see what it was about Jonas that had you trembling so," Ana said as she rounded the corner.

Merlin smiled widely. He was so grateful to see her, he forgot what he'd overheard. _Ana,_ _I_ _could_ kiss _you_ , he thought as he glanced down at her blonde head. His eyes popped when he heard her sarcastic response -- in his mind.

 _Maybe later_.

"Excuse me?" Arthur said. "What on earth are you on about?"

Ana shrugged. "Well, Jonas walked by . . . and you looked . . . well . . ." She lowered her voice and leaned forward. "You looked like you normally look when Gwen walks by." She leaned back. "Merlin and I were curious."

"That never happened!"

Ana shrugged again. "Deny it all you like, my lord. Merlin and I know what we saw. Come," she added to Merlin, "We have work to do. Gaius sent me to fetch you anyway."

With that, they left the stunned Arthur outside Catrina's chambers.

* * *

Ana sighed as she sat down in front of Gaius.

"I'm sorry. I tried. I gave it everything I had."  
  
"It's not your fault, my dear. You did your best."

Ana glanced at Merlin then at Gaius. "The spell of revelation is powerful magic. And she could feel it, I could see she could feel it."  
  
"Her magic must be strong, indeed, to be able to resist you." Then to Merlin, as the boy was rushing off. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To see Arthur!" Merlin called. "He's our only hope!"  
  
"Merlin!" Ana cried. She glanced at Gaius before following the prince's servant.

* * *

Ana stumbled into Arthur's chambers.

"You're not using my chambers to spy on her again."

"Oh, no," Merlin said, shaking his head. "Trust me, I saw everything I needed to see."

"I'm sure you did," Arthur said sarcastically.

"Arthur. She's a troll."

Arthur laughed. "She's not that bad."

"I'm serious. She is."

"He's right," Ana said as she rested her elbow on Merlin's shoulder. "She's an actual troll."

"Ana, I'm still not talking to you after that stunt you pulled, so you shut up. Merlin, I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it. You're a true friend. But it's not about whether I like her or not, it's about what makes my father happy. And when they announced the wedding today, I realised that Lady Catrina does just that. She makes him happy."  
  
"Well, he won't be so damn happy when he discovers his wife's a fruit munching monster."  
  
"That's enough, Merlin."  
  
"But . . ."  
  
"She's the future queen of Camelot whether you like it or not. So you better get used to it."

Merlin glanced at Ana. "Don't you dare say it," he warned before turning to leave.

Ana stared at the blond prince. "You can ignore me all you like, Arthur, but you'll see. Your new stepmother's a great fat stinky troll. I hope you don't mind having fleas at the dinner table."

And before Arthur could respond, Ana left.

* * *

Ana was walking through the corridors when she heard pitiful weeping. She rounded a corner to see Jonas, Catrina's companion.

"Mistress. I'm sorry."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm a slave. A prisoner."

Ana frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"My mistress, she's not as she seems. But you know as much."

Ana raised her eyebrows, inching closer. "Go on, I'm listening."

"She is a cruel, wicked creature. She keeps me in chains. She hurts me. Her magic, I-I can't escape it. She twists my mind as she is twisting the mind of your King."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ana wasn't sure she should trust the creature.

"I can help you."

"How?"

"Below the castle, where she sleeps, she keeps her potions there. Every night she must take these potions, it is the magic that transforms her from beast to beauty. If you were to take these from her, she must remain as a beast, and then your King would not be so keen, I think."

"Tell me, Jonas, why should I believe any of this?"

"You must do as you think fit, Mistress Salvador, but if my mistress is not stopped, by morning she will be queen."

That was all it took to get Ana moving. It was one thing to live in a city governed by a man who hated anyone like her. It was another to live in a city governed by a troll.

* * *

Ana searched the stinking area, but found nothing.

"You won't find anything in there," the troll said. "You may possess some magic, wretch, but you are no match for me."

The troll raised its hand and the tunnel entrance collapsed, trapping Ana inside.

Back in the physician's chambers, Gaius and Merlin were searching for Ana.

* * *

Ana was trapped, and she knew there was no way out. Especially if she didn't know the right spells. She wondered if her connections were one-sided or not.

_Merlin!_

* * *

Merlin watched as Arthur and Uther entered the throne room.

Ana tried again from the troll's nest. _Merlin, help!_

* * *

Merlin watched in terror as Catrina entered.

_Merlin,_ _I'm trapped_ _. Merlin, please!_

Merlin looked around wildly.

_Merlin!_

* * *

Ana kicked at the stones in frustration. "Merlin!"

"Ana! Ana, are you there?"

"Merlin? Merlin! I'm stuck!"

"Stand back!"

Ana did as she was told. Merlin want afraid of being seen. Right now, his biggest fear was Uther marrying that troll. " _Ic ábíetee pæt stánhol_."

"Merlin, hurry!"

" _Ic ábíetee pæt stánhol._ "

* * *

"My lords, ladies, and gentlemen of Camelot, we are gathered here today to celebrate, by the ancient right of handfasting, the union of Uther Pendragon and Lady Catrina of Tregor."

* * *

" _Ic ábíetee pæt stánhol._ "

"They're starting, Merlin! I can see it. Arthur's looking for you!"

* * *

"Is it your wish, Uther, to become one with this woman?"

"It is."

* * *

" _Ic ábíetee pæt stánhol_!"

"Hurry, Merlin!"

* * *

"Is it your wish, Catrina, to become one with this man?"

"It is."  
  
"Do any say nay?"

* * *

Merlin's spell unblocked the entrance and together, he and Ana raced to the throne room.

Jonas stepped in their way and they collided with him, Jonas holding fast. "Can I help you? Are you lost?"  
  
"Step aside, Jonas," Merlin said.  
  
"The King's wedding is by invitation only."  
  
"I said, get out of my way!"  
  
"So sorry, but I regret to say, that you are not invited."

* * *

"With this garland, I do tie a knot, and by doing so, bind your hands and your hearts for all eternity."

* * *

"Leave my mistress alone!" Jonas cried, fighting Merlin. Unnoticed, Ana quietly tried to sneak past.

* * *

"I, Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot, I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself.

* * *

" _Ic þé wiþdríf_!" Merlin shouted.

* * *

"I now pronounce you to be husband and wife."

Merlin and Ana burst in just as Uther and Catrina sealed their marriage. The court applauded and the troll gave the two a wicked glare once she noticed them.

Merlin and Ana shared a terrified glance. They had failed.


	6. Beauty and the Beast (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur takes an involuntary peek into Ana's vivid imagination  
> Merlin notices a bond between the prince and the maid  
> Ana finally kills the troll

Ana was in the battlements when Arthur walked past, surrounded by guards.

"Search the stables. You, check the kitchens. And alert the guard on the south gate!"

Ana rushed out and pulled Arthur into a niche in the wall. "What's going on?"

Arthur poked his head out to see if his guards had noticed. "It's Merlin . . . he's under arrest," Arthur said. "By order of the king. I'm sorry, Ana. There's nothing I can --"

"Piss off, you prat!" Ana snapped. "If you _ever_ cared for Merlin -- or me -- you'd find _something_."

"At the rate you're going, Ana, I'm going to lock _you_ up for anything I can find. That stunt you pulled with Hengist . . . even if you left _immediately_ after Merlin and me, there's no way you'd have found Gwen before us. I'm sure you are using magic behind my back, and when I catch you --"

"What? You're going to execute me? I'll have you know I have saved your life more times than you can count. That 'stunt I pulled' . . . the one that saved Gwen's life? Oh, did you forget that her life was at stake? Or did you forget that I was the one who was ready to sacrifice myself and stay trapped in that cage with Hengist and the Wilddeoren? Did you forget that I fought off bandits by the tens _on my own_ so you could get Gwen to safety? If I were using magic, I'd call you an ungrateful _pig_ for having me executed."

Arthur sighed. "This doesn't change the fact that my hands are tied with Merlin's . . ."

Arthur bolted without explanation.

"Arthur!"

* * *

Ana found Arthur in his own chambers, arguing with Merlin. She hid behind a curtain to listen in.

"I'm telling the truth. I saw her."

There was a loud knock at the door.

"I don't care. You need to leave, Merlin."

The knock was louder now, more insistent.

"Go," Arthur ordered. "Go!"

Merlin hesitated before leaving through the back way before the guards entered the Prince's room.

* * *

Ana reluctantly did as Arthur asked and stood in for Merlin in the council chambers. She glared at Catrina, intense hatred filling her small frame.

"I fear he may have slipped through our net," Arthur said.

"You're very quick to give up the chase," Catrina said. Ana wanted to lunge for her and rip her brown locks from her head. She wanted to choke Catrina until she was blue in the face and then chop her head off.

"That is because I know my quarry is long gone."

"How can you be so certain?" Uther asked.

"Well, despite appearances, Merlin isn't stupid. He must've got wind that we were looking for him and left."

Ana rolled her eyes. You're _the stupid one, you_ _little_ _grape seed_.

"Outwitting your army in the process," Catrina commented distastefully. Ana hissed, not unlike an animal. Ana imagined what she'd do to Catrina if she were an animal. Bare her teeth . . . rip the troll's limbs from its body . . . tear the flesh from bone . . . Ana was really _fuming_.

"It appears so."

"I thought your men aspired to the same high standards that my father instilled in you."

"When I led the army, they did," Uther told his wife.

"We don't even know if he's still in Camelot. He could be anywhere."

"And that's a good enough reason to give up?"

A dangerously low sound erupted from Ana, but the only one who noticed was Arthur. Catrina was focused on staring Arthur down. Uther was giving Catrina a lovesick look. Ana imagined producing a sword from her cloak and just . . . running Catrina through. Ana saw Catrina morph into her true form in her mind and she smiled as she saw herself twist the sword in the troll's gut as it slumped to the ground.

How _dare_ a troll attack Camelot -- _and Merlin_! -- while Ana lived and breathed? If anything, Ana would give her life for the prince and Merlin. She knew she would even if she hadn't grown close to them both -- she'd already done it before.

"No," Arthur said quickly, shuddering slightly. "I'm not. It's just that I believe our resources would be better --"

"I've had enough of your excuses," Uther snapped. "We both have. I want the boy found."

"Sire. My Lady."

A stony expression set, Arthur grabbed Ana's elbow and practically dragged her out of the council chambers. He didn't let go until he was sure no one was near.

Ana glanced around Arthur's empty chambers, wondering what had gotten the prince in such a mood.

"What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?"

Arthur glared at Ana. "You know very well what I'm talking about. I'm quite sure you do."

Ana raised her eyebrows. "Um . . . your stepmother's a troll?"

"Ana! I saw you!"

"Yes, I _was_ standing nearby, you know."

"Shut up. I saw you, killing Lady Catrina . . . multiple times."

Ana smiled. "Me too. It was a beautiful fantasy."

"No, you don't get it. You were standing there and growling and hissing like some sort of animal and one minute we were in the council chambers as normal and the next, I saw you _transform_ into a -- a -- a lion and then it was a dragon and then it was some terrifying . . . _beast_ . . . and you were _mutilating_ Lady Catrina, but it wasn't her, it was some disgusting _thing_ . . . and then there was you normally with a sword and you just . . . ran it through Lady Catrina and she was that thing again. I'm pretty sure that's what you were daydreaming about, seeing as you're the only other person who thinks she's a troll, aside from Gaius, who wasn't present."

With each word Arthur spoke, Ana paled and her horror grew. When no answer came from the blonde maid, Arthur's temper began to rise.

"Don't tell me you were using magic. Please."

" _I_ wasn't using magic," Ana snapped. "Do you think I _want_ you in my head? Worse, do you think _I_ want to be in _yours_? It's a bloody empty room in there!"

Arthur blinked. "What?"

"What?" Ana copied.

"You just said . . ."

"What?"

"But you . . ."

"Are you okay, my lord?" Ana asked, emphasising her concern.

"But it _is_ magic?"

"Now is not the time, Arthur."

"Why not?"

"Come closer."

"Why? So you can hex me?"

"Yes."

"What?"

Ana rolled her eyes. "It is not for other ears, my lord."

Sighing, Arthur leaned his head down. Gently, Ana put her hands on his face and whispered, "Sleep, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur tried to fight it off, but he couldn't and with great difficulty, Ana laid him down on his bed. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips as she stared at his unconscious figure.

"Oh, Arthur. You're just too nosy for your own good. I suppose it's just my luck I know how to temporarily remove memories."

She folded her arms. "You'll get these back, no doubt of that . . . _when_ is another question."

* * *

Ana and Gwen walked with Gaius. Ana had successfully snuck out while Arthur slept, as the prince seemed determined to keep her within his sight at all times. Perhaps he knew she would flee the city to look for Merlin as soon as possible.

"They found Merlin's trail," Gwen was saying. "They say he's heading for the northern borders."

"I'm sure he'll outrun them."

Ana frowned, Gaius was eerily calm about Merlin being a wanted fugitive and on the run.

"What if he can't?" Gwen asked. "Uther won't show him any mercy."

"Try not to worry, Gwen."

* * *

Ana leaned against Gaius's table and folded her arms over the book she was holding. "What are you hiding, Gaius?"

"It's not a _what_ , Ana," Gaius said as he walked over to a barrel of grains. "It's more of a _who_." Gaius knocked on the barrel and the grains began to shiver.

Ana leaned closer, and when Merlin popped his head up, she dropped the book and squashed him in a bone-crushing hug before he even got out of the barrel. "You're okay!"

"Um, Ana. Can I get out?"

Ana let go and stepped back so Merlin could get out of the barrel. "Well," he said, "that was comfortable."

"A necessary evil, I'm afraid. They picked up the trail that we left, but it won't fool them for long."

"Then I'd better get busy."

"And Merlin, be careful. The guards are still searching for you. Ana, you need to be on your best behaviour before that troll decides to get rid of you too."

Ana nodded. "I understand, Gaius. Don't worry, Arthur's got me constantly by his side doing Merlin's work. I don't think I'll _have_ any time to muck about."

* * *

While Merlin got to work snooping where he could, Ana continued to be a good little serving girl and do as she was told. Right now, that meant standing off to the side while Arthur faced his father and the queen.

"There's something important that I -- we wish you to address. For too long, the people have had it easy. They've grown fat off our indulgence of them."

Arthur raised his eyebrows at his father. "How so?"

"We provide peace, protection, food. They give us very little in return," Uther said by way of explanation.

"Most of our people are poor. They survive on the few crops they're able to grow."

Catrina gave a snort and Ana imagined her nose morphing into its true appearance while she snorted like a pig. "That is what they would have us believe."

The image amused Ana and she gave an involuntary giggle that Arthur silenced with a glare. "It's what I see every day," he said.

"We're introducing a new tax," Uther announced and everyone present froze in shock.

"The people must pay for the sanctuary that Camelot provides," Catrina added.

"You can't," Arthur argued. "The majority are barely able to get by as it is."

"Those who refuse to pay it will be arrested and publicly flogged," Uther said with finality.

"We've lived this way for _years_. You've never suggested anything like this before."

"Maybe not to _you_ ," Catrina said with a sneer, "but the King confided in me that he has been considering this for some time, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. You are to begin the collections at once," Uther told his son.

Ana's heart dropped. Like so many of the townspeople, she too had nothing material in the world. If she who had access to every vault in the castle couldn't, how could those who lived off their crops pay the tax?

_Please, Arthur._ _Don't_ _do this._

* * *

That night, Merlin snuck into Catrina's old chambers and stole the bottle of the potion she used to keep up her humanly appearance.

"I saw her drink some of this potion and a patch of troll skin on her arm disappeared," he said, placing the bottle on the table in front of Ana and Gaius.

"It must be pretty powerful magic to physically change her like that," Gaius stated.

"Could you make a potion that looks and tastes the same as this?" Ana asked.

"I don't know. Yes, I suppose so, but without the troll magic, it wouldn't have the same effect."

Merlin grinned at Ana. "If we can replace this potion with one that isn't magical, then . . . no more human Catrina."

Gaius nodded. "Ah, so Catrina will keep taking it, but it'll no longer work."

"And she'll turn into a troll," Ana finished. "Think you can do it?"

"I don't know," the physician admitted.

"We have to make the switch before morning or Jonas will notice," Merlin said.

"Then it's going to be a long night," Gaius said. "Ana, time to learn about brewing utter nonsense."

* * *

"What's in it?" Merlin asked as Gaius watched Ana stir the potion.

"Nothing too potent," Ana said with a shrug. "Rat's guts."

"Nice."

"Toad paste," Gaius added. "Take two toads, grind them up --"

"No, I get the picture," Merlin interrupted.

"Horse dung," Ana continued. "Crushed sheep's eyeball."

"Oh, lovely."

"Pond scum. Three wolf spiders."

"And what potion isn't complete without a dash of sheep's brain?" Ana finished, dipping a spoon into the potion and lifting it as if it were soup.

"Sounds delicious," Merlin said, rolling his eyes.

"Good, 'cause you're going to taste it."

"No way."

"It's completely harmless," Gaius assured him.

"Er, no." Merlin opened his mouth to argue again and Ana shoved the spoon in. Merlin gagged violently. "That is . . . ugh. That is disgusting."

"Yes, to you," Gaius said. "But not to a troll."

"I can't even believe you put that in my mouth," Merlin said to Ana with a glare.

"Yes, well, try the original," Gaius cut in.

Merlin's eyes widened.

"Just a small amount. And be sure to spit it out."

Reluctantly, Merlin did it and immediately spat the potion out.

"Does it taste roughly the same?" Ana asked.

"Yes! It's horrible."

"Are you sure?" Gaius asked. "Because if there's too big a difference, Catrina will notice."

"It tastes _exactly_ the same," Merlin assured them.

"Well, let's hope she thinks so, too."

* * *

"Would you at least tell me why you've got me following you like some sort of pet?"

"I know you, and I know that the second I let you out of my sight, you'll flee after Merlin. I can't afford to lose _two_ idiots who are good at their jobs."

Ana smiled. "So, you do think we're good."

"No," Arthur said, "I just think you're not as terrible as you could be."

"You really know how to make a woman feel special, don't you, my lord?"

"You're special enough on your own, Ana. You're a special kind of stupid."

Ana rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but Arthur's attention was caught by something else. Ana turned to see a few guards wrestling with one of the townspeople.

"What do you think you're doing?" Arthur cried.

"He's refusing to pay the King's tax," one of the guards said.

"You -- you ask for too much," the man whimpered.

Ana noticed Gwen in her doorway but said nothing. Like everyone else, she was watching the prince.

"I've given all I can," the man continued.

"That's not enough!" the guard snapped.

Arthur glanced around before sighing and stepping towards the pair. "Let me see," he said, holding out his hand in front of the guard for the money pouch. He glanced into it briefly before handing the pouch back to the man. "Release him."

"The King said --"

"Release him. Give them back their money. All of it."

Ana smiled in admiration when the people bowed as Arthur left. She could see him becoming a great king one day. She was so busy imagining the day her prince would be king, she'd forgotten to walk.

"Ana!" the prince shouted when he too realised that she was still standing there. "You have work to do!"

* * *

Once again, Ana found herself glaring at Lady Catrina in pure hate. She was starting to wish she'd been exiled instead of Merlin.

"I gave you a direct order," Uther snapped at his son.

Arthur remained defiant. "The people cannot afford to pay the tax."

Catrina sneered at the prince while Ana tried not to kill the troll. "Don't tell me you're naïve enough to take them at their word?"

"We have their loyalty, their goodwill," Arthur insisted. "Do not forsake that by making unreasonable demands."

"Is it so unreasonable for a king to expect his subjects to obey him?"

"They'll starve!" Arthur cried.

Ana noticed an amulet around the king's neck glow. It was brief, and she could've been mistaken, but she wasn't prepared to overlook anything.

"Nonsense," Uther growled. "They've grown too soft. Remember, these are your subjects, not your friends."

"And why can't they be both?" Ana smiled at Arthur's question.

"Because _we_ rule the people, not the other way around."

"I think you're wrong."

Uther was stunned. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said you're wrong. Without the people, there is no Camelot. We're as much their servant as they are ours."

Catrina sneered at Arthur again before addressing her husband. "You allow him to address you in this manner?"

"No, I do not," Uther said with a stern look at his son. "It will not be tolerated. You will take your men down into the town and go to every house collecting the payments I demand."

"I will not."

Ana's heart swelled with pride.

"Get out of my sight," the king seethed.

Arthur bowed and left. Ana didn't bother to even acknowledge the woman as she curtseyed to the king and followed the prince.

* * *

Since Arthur still refused to let Ana out of his sight, the maid was sullenly ignoring her work in the corner of Arthur's chambers, picking at the threads on her dress. She sat in the chair behind his desk, her feet up on the desk.

"Why are you even here, Ana?"

Ana raised her eyebrows but did not lift her head. "Are you actually asking me that?"

"Not here right now, here in Camelot."

"Oh," Ana said, lifting her head. "I woke up here the night the tomb of Cornelius Sigan was broken into . . . I have no memory before that."

Arthur's eyes widened. "You don't remember? Nothing before then?"

Ana shook her head. "Don't worry about me, my Lord. I've made peace with the fact that I do not remember."

Arthur opened his mouth to respond, but a knock at the door stopped him. "Come in," he called.

When Gwen entered, Ana shrank into the chair and hoped she would go unnoticed. She did enjoy watching the pair when they thought no one was.

"Guinevere!"

"I saw what you did earlier," the maid said softly. "The people owe you a debt of gratitude."

"The people owe me nothing," Arthur said, looking rather dejected. "My father's still going to impose the tax."

"Will he not be persuaded?" Gwen asked, a slight crease in her forehead.

"Not by me. He can't stand the sight of me."

Ana's heart nearly broke at the look on Arthur's face.

"That's not true," Gwen voiced Ana's thoughts. "The King loves you."

"You should've heard the way he spoke to me," Arthur muttered.

"I'm sure he was angry, but you're still his son. Everyone appreciates what you did. They know you tried, and they won't forget that."

Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Maybe he's right. One day I will be the King of Camelot, and I cannot be a friend to the people as well as their ruler."

Ana glowered at him and his words. _You stupid plant_.

"That's not true, and you will prove it when you become King. You've a kind heart, Arthur. Don't ever change. Not for anyone."

Ana glared at Leon when he knocked and entered, ruining what could've become a significant moment between the prince and the maid.

"The King has sent for you," the knight told Arthur.

* * *

Ana frowned as she noticed that the full council was assembled. She leaned towards Gwen. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Gwen replied. "I'm only here because Morgana needs to be here."

"Father?" Arthur addressed the king.

"I'm relaxing your duties, revoking your title."

Ana's head felt rather light and she swayed on her feet. _A nightmare_ , she told herself. _It's_ _just a nightmare_.

"What?" Arthur managed.

"We live in dangerous times, I cannot allow you to undermine my authority," Uther said firmly.

"You've always welcomed my counsel in the past," Arthur stated, stepping forward.

"You stood against me for all the people to see," the king countered. Arthur stepped back.

"I'm sorry. Any future grievance I have will be held in private."

"No," Uther said, "it's too late for that."

"Father, this is --"

"You are to be disinherited, with immediate effect. You are no longer Crown Prince of Camelot."

There were audible gasps among the people present. Gwen glanced at the maid beside her when the blonde swayed far too much, mumbling about a nightmare.

"Sire, Arthur is your son, your natural heir --"

"Gaius," Arthur said to quieten the physician. Then he faced his father. "You've always taught me to be true to my heart, and that's all I've ever tried to do. To be the man you wanted me to be. Someone you were proud to call your son."

"My decision is final," the king said, turning his head slightly to indicate as such. Ana glared at the back of Catrina's head.

 _This all you_ , she thought as Arthur left the chambers. _I will kill_ _you_.

Uther addressed the council. "Queen Catrina will be named as the rightful heir to the throne. The ceremony will begin forthwith."

Ana stalked off without caring for the consequences of disregarding the king and queen such.

* * *

Merlin walked into Gaius's chambers with a smile on his face.

"We've done it!" he said happily. "Catrina's drank the fake potion." Then he noticed the expressions on the faces of Gaius and Ana. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Uther has disinherited Arthur and made Catrina his heir," Gaius informed his apprentice.

"That foul wretch," Ana spat, folding her arms and leaned back in the chair she sat in.

"So if Uther dies . . . she will rule Camelot."

Gaius nodded in response to Merlin's conclusion while Ana's frown deepened.

* * *

"We are gathered here to bear witness to the naming of Queen Catrina as the rightful heir to Camelot. Are you willing to take the oath?"

Ana barely stopped herself from hissing as Catrina stated that she was. If only the potion would wear off now, in front of everyone.

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Camelot, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?"

"I . . . do." Ana smiled in glee as she watched Catrina shift uncomfortably. Maybe the potion was wearing off after all.

"Will you, to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will."

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers maintain the laws --"

"Yes, yes," Catrina cut as she noticed a patch of troll skin on her arm.

"I'm sorry, you -- you must let me finish. The wording must be exactly right to be binding."

"Well, get on with it then." She glanced at Uther. "I mean, really, where did you dig up this old crone from?"

"She's right. Get on with it."

Ana felt bad for poor Geoffrey, he was only doing his job.

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers --"

"Yes, yes."

"--maintain the laws and customs --"

"I will, I will."

Ana had to cover her mouth to hide her smile as Catrina fidgeted.

"-- of the land, and serve the people of Camelot?"

"Yes! Just shut up and give me the crown!"

The court let out a collective gasp as Geoffrey presented Catrina with the crown.

"Will you just hurry up," she snapped, suddenly grabbing the crown and jamming it on her head as she ran from the Ceremony Hall.

"Catrina!" Uther called after his wife.

Ana hurried after Morgana, Jonas and a hidden Merlin into the red ribbon corridor.

"Catrina!"

The guards pointed to the council chamber.

"Catrina!"

The council chamber doors blew shut, but Ana could sense the magic behind it. She smiled; Merlin must be around.

"Whatever's the matter?" Uther nearly pleaded.

"I'm sorry," she said, and Ana noticed her hide her arm behind her back, allowing Ana to catch a glimpse of her troll skin. "I don't know what came over me. I -- I just suddenly felt so hot. I, do you know, I think I need to be on my own, all right?"

"Are you all right?" Morgana asked, stepped forward.

"Yes, yes, I'm, I'm fine. Really, thank you. I just --" she turned to grab the door handle.

" _Fýrbendum fæst_ ," Ana hissed before Merlin could, locking the door. She smirked as Catrina encouraged herself to open the door and pulled on the handle.

"Open!" she eventually shouted.

"Let me," Arthur began, reaching out. Ana moved to grab him back, but she didn't have to. Arthur had seen the arm of the troll and backed away, almost into Ana.

"What's that?" he asked as Catrina began to morph into her true form.

"What's happening?" Morgana cried. "Somebody help her!"

"You're a troll!" Arthur shouted once the transformation was complete. "I told you so," Ana whispered.

The trio gasped and Uther snapped out of his reverie. "How dare you speak about her like that?" he shouted.

Arthur's jaw dropped. "What is wrong with you? Look at the state of her!"

"I don't believe it," Morgana mumbled as the troll ripped the door open and snarled at everyone before hurrying away.

"She just ripped a door off its hinges," Arthur told his father. "Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Enough!"

"She's a troll! A giant . . . grey . . ."

"Stinking," Ana supplied.

"Stinking troll!" Arthur cried.

"Stop it! Haven't you hurt her feelings enough? Insult my wife again, it'll be the last thing you ever do."

They all stared -- save Ana -- with open mouths as Uther picked up Catrina's shoes and left after her.

* * *

Ana put Arthur to sleep with a spell that would last nearly five minutes and sprinted to Gaius's chambers.

"You won't find anything in your magic books," Gaius was saying as she entered. "Troll enchantments are too strong."

He and Merlin looked up as Ana banged the door shut and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "Apologies, lads. I had to sprint from Arthur's chambers before he woke. Now, what are we to do about that fat troll?"

"Merlin," Gaius said, "you must speak to the dragon. If there's a way to break Catrina's hold on Uther, he'll know it. But be careful, dragons and trolls have been close allies in the past."

Ana heaved a sigh and donning her cloak, she followed Merlin down, not prepared to be caught by Arthur and be forced to wait upon Uther and his troll for dinner.

* * *

The dragon laughed and laughed quite heartily. Ana was beginning to get annoyed as she hid outside. She still hadn't told Merlin that she'd met the Great Dragon before.

"This isn't funny," Merlin said.

"Oh, it is, it is," the dragon replied. "The thought of Uther marrying a troll! Was it a very public affair?"

"Public enough," the warlock grumbled while Kilgharrah continued laughing.

"Don't laugh!" Ana snapped as she gave up and stalked in. "If the troll can't be stopped, Arthur won't become King. Albion will never be born."

"Hm, so you have returned."

Ana paid his small talk no attention. "How can we break the enchantment?"

The dragon seemed to sense that Ana was not in the mood to be tested. "These are not trifling tricks. Troll magic is very powerful."

"There has to be a way," Merlin nearly pleaded. There was silence, so Ana glared at Kilgharrah. "Tell us, or you will never see daylight."

The dragon hesitated for just a second. "The only way you could break this enchantment is if Uther were to cry tears of true remorse."

"How do we make him do that?" Ana asked.

"That I can't answer. Uther's heart is cold as stone. He's never been sorry for anything."

"Thanks, I think," Merlin said, turning to leave. He grabbed Ana's hand.

"Young warlock, it was some time ago you promised to set me free. The help I give is not unconditional."

Ana stared at the Great Dragon, wondering exactly why Merlin would have made such a promise. What could have been at stake?

* * *

"The dragon said he had to cry tears of true remorse to break the enchantment," Merlin relayed to Gaius

"Well, that's not going to be easy. Uther's heart's closed to everyone."

"Well, not everyone," Ana put in, absently. When both men turned to look at her, she glanced up. "Arthur."

"Then there's only one course of action we can take," the aged physician said. "Uther must see his son die."

Ana watched as Gaius retreated into his corner to research and Merlin slumped into his room after staring at Ana for a while. The young maid followed Merlin. "What's that look for?"

"You spoke to the Great Dragon before?"

"Once, yes. I followed you down there when you went to ask him where the Druids are."

Merlin's eyebrows lifted slightly. "I didn't see you."

Ana shrugged. "Maybe I have a magic cloak."

"That red one that matches the knights?"

Ana nodded. Merlin shrugged. "Maybe you do."

Then he groaned and laid down on his bed. "Would you like to tell Arthur he has to die?"

Ana grinned. "Only if you fetch him."

"He's going to be pissed to see me still here."

Ana shrugged. "Well, that's his problem then. Bring him here tonight, okay?"

* * *

"So your great plan is to kill me?" Arthur asked.

"No," Merlin said. "Well, yes. It . . . not exactly. It's . . ."

Ana leaned forward. "Gaius has made a potion that gives the appearance of death without the actual dying bit. It's fine. There's nothing to worry about. It'll only bring you to the brink of death."

"Oh, only to the brink," Arthur said sarcastically.

"We haven't got a choice," Merlin said.

"We have to make your father cry," Gaius added.

"He doesn't care about me anymore."

"Nonsense," Gaius began, but Ana cut him off with a snappish tone. "That's Catrina's influence, the bloody hag."

Gaius smiled at Ana's hatred for the troll. Then he addressed Arthur. "I've known your father for many, many years. There's never been anyone or anything he's treasured more than you. It's perfectly safe. A single drop of the antidote will reverse the effects immediately."

"Antidote. What antidote? You didn't say anything about the antidote!"

"Er . . ." Ana wrung the front of her dress in her hands. "I didn't think it was important."

Gaius waved it off and continued his explanation to Arthur. "The potion will lower your heart rate and breathing. For all intents and purposes, you will be dead."

"And the antidote reverses the effects?" Arthur clarified.

Gaius nodded. "Yes. If it's administered in time."

"If it isn't?"

"You will be dead," Merlin said as if Arthur was an idiot for not realising it.

The prince stared at Ana. "You just said it wasn't important!"

She shrugged. "Erm . . . yeah, I suppose it is a bit important."

"A bit important?" he cried. "Sometimes I think you're actually trying to get rid of me."

Ana snorted and muttered under her breath. "You have _no_ idea."

Gaius tutted in disappointment at Ana and once again addressed Arthur. "Merlin and Ana will both have the antidote with them. Once I have administered the poison -- er, the _potion_ , they'll have half an hour to get it to you."

"Don't be late," Arthur snapped, glaring first at his manservant and then at the maid.

"Are we ever?" Merlin asked innocently.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Gaius questioned.

"It's the only way to save Camelot," Arthur said, taking the potion from Gaius. Ana watched in slight worry as Arthur drank it. They waited. Arthur shrugged and then promptly passed out.

"Time to break the bad news to Uther," Gaius said, glancing at Ana, who nodded grimly and left to find the king.

* * *

Ana clutched the tiny vial with both hands as tightly as she could without accidentally crushing the glass. The antidote she held would work, but Merlin had the true antidote. Ana would need to feed Arthur more than a few drops of hers to revive him. She watched as Uther rushed in and noticed Arthur.

"My boy."

Ana felt a sharp pain on the top of her head, and then she felt as if she had fallen.

"It was my fault," Uther said. "I pushed you away."

 _Cry_ , Ana almost demanded. _Cry_ _so_ _I_ _can bring my_ _Prince_ _back_.

_No no_ _no_ _no no no_

Ana froze as she realised the voice was Merlin's. The throbbing in her head dulled slightly.

"My son. My son." Uther continued moaning in grief at the apparent death of his son. The troll entered to find the king cradling Arthur's lifeless body. Ana shivered, glad it wasn't true.

 _The_ _antidote_ _,_ _it's_ _everywhere_ _. God_ _no_. Ana's eyes widened but she didn't dare move from her hiding spot as the troll approached Uther. _It's_ _all_ _right_ _,_ _Merlin_ _._ _I've_ _still got mine. Stay_ _safe_ _._

"Come away. There's nothing you can do for him now."

"I killed him. I killed my only son!"

The troll seemed to realise that her magic was failing. "No, no, no, no. _Nu meaht þú begalan. Nu meaht þú --_ " She pulled on Uther's arm and he looked up. That's when Ana noticed the tears on his face.

"Catrina?" he barely managed to ask. "What kind of trickery is this?"

The troll scoffed and stepped back. "How I've suffered these last weeks. Allowing you to touch me! Having to share a bed with you!"

"Eugh." Uther looked ready to barf. Ana smiled. Now, if he could just move from Arthur, she'd be able to pour the antidote into his mouth.

"It's repulsive," the troll spat.

"I know the feeling," Uther mumbled, moving away from the smelly troll.

"Ooh, I've been looking forward to this," she said as she advanced.

"Guards! Seize. . ." Uther did not know what to call her, "it!"

Ana rushed to Arthur's side and slid down to the floor, popping the cork out of the bottle before tipping the contents into Arthur's mouth. She then pinched his nose shut and covered his mouth with her other hand, forcing him to swallow the antidote.

Arthur's eyes flew open and she let go and nearly fell backwards in relief. Merlin appeared behind her and pulled her to her feet and out of the way as Arthur grabbed his sword and attacked the troll.

"Is that any way to treat your dear old stepmother?" she asked mockingly.

The troll succeeded in throwing Arthur off and then turned to fight off the king and his guards. Out of the corner of her eye, Ana noticed the troll's servant, Jonas, approaching Arthur. From nowhere, Ana produced her six-inch blade and stepped in his path, succeeding in piercing his stomach with the dagger. She smiled sweetly at him as he dropped to the floor.

Arthur glanced at the fallen creature then back up at Ana. "Thanks," he said, suddenly moving away as he noticed the troll come back for him. She backed him up against the wall and knocked the sword from his hand. "Ana!"

" _Fléoge hrægl_ ," Merlin whispered as Ana snatched the sword midair. The rug jerked under the troll's feet and she landed on her back, dropping Arthur against the wall as Ana brought the sword down on her, running her through.

"I told you I'd kill you," she spat.

* * *

Ana walked slowly along the corridor with Merlin.

"I had no idea you and the royal prat were so close," Merlin said, a teasing smile on his face.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm just thinking about last night, when the troll trapped Arthur. He called out for you instead of one of the knights. Leon was there too, and I know he trusts Leon quite a bit."

Ana smiled and shook her head. "I'm very handy with a sword. The night with Cornelius Sigan, I snuck out of the temporary medical ward to help Arthur fend off the gargoyles and I was quite good at it. When you went off with Morgana, I followed Arthur out to find you and I took down a guard with no more than two blows. He's alive, don't you worry, just nursing a popped shoulder still. And then recently, he boasted about being better than I to Leon and found himself having to prove it and I bested him with my stolen dagger. I actually had him at the point of his own sword. I think he just knows I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to handling a blade."

Merlin eyed the maid beside him. "Where on earth did you come from Ana? You're exceptionally strange."

"How so?"

"You're a maid that's working without payment. You're technically not employed by the castle, yet you don't seek to be paid for working for both Arthur and Morgana. But besides that, there's the way you handle a sword. No one really teaches us servants and maids how to use one, so where you learnt to expertly handle one is beyond me. I mean, Gaius mentioned that you got rid of two of the gargoyles on your own. I just--" Merlin shook his head and gave Ana an awed smile. "You amaze me, you know that?"

"Keep the flirting to a minimum," Arthur said as he approached.

Ana rolled her eyes at him. "With all due respect, your majesty --" Arthur raised his eyebrows, expecting something violent "-- piss off."

Arthur closed his eyes and nodded. "You saved my life, Ana. That is the only reason I have not thrown you in a --"

"If you say jail cell, I will strangle you with your shoelaces. Did you forget already throwing me in there?"

"With all due respect, Ana, piss off." Without waiting for a response he was sure Ana had ready, the prince turned to the dark-haired warlock. "Merlin. I want you to know that I never doubted you. Alright, maybe I did, but it's your own fault. You've got a suspicious look about you. Shifty. Like you've got something to hide."

"I am an open book," Merlin said, lifting his head slightly.

"I don't believe that for a second. However, I do know that without your help, I'd still have a troll for a stepmother. Well, thanks -- whoa. What are you doing?"

"I thought you were going for a hug."

Ana snorted.

"No," Arthur said.

Merlin nodded. "No." And then he left before it could become any more awkward.

Arthur turned to Ana. "Excellent swordsmanship, as always."

Ana smiled. "Well, that's a nice change. It's not every day his royal airheadedness pays me a compliment, you know."

"I take it back," Arthur said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're either going to murder me or drive me to suicide, and I don't know which is worse. Good night."

"Good night, Prince Prat," Ana called as Arthur walked away, shaking his head, probably wondering why he even bothered to talk to Ana.


	7. The Witchfinder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uther is SoftTM for Ana, apparently -- more so than he is for Arthur anyway  
> Arthur witnesses a murder

"Oh, quit moping, Merlin," Ana grumbled as she added another branch to the bundle in her arms. "Or if you won't, at least help me while you sulk."

Merlin smiled at his blonde friend. "Oh, shut up, Ana."

Ana watched as he walked off and sat down on a hillside, probably able to see the castle at Camelot. Ana sighed. "That boy is going to get himself in trouble one day."

One of the women gathering firewood with Ana laughed softly. "Don't be so hard on him, Ana. Can't you see he's got something on his mind?"

Ana sighed. "Merlin's always got something on his mind, Cathryn, he --"

Ana turned around at the horrified look on the woman's face in time to watch a running horse of smoke disappate. She turned back quickly to ask what it was Cathryn was seeing -- perhaps she could fool Cathryn into thinking it was a trick of the light -- but Cathryn had dropped her wood and was rushing to Merlin.

"Did you see it?" she asked him urgently. "The smoke, did you see it?"

Merlin shook his head, masking his surprise. "No, I saw nothing."

"Are you blind? You were right here! It was magic, I tell you. There's sorcery here. We must tell the King."

"Cathryn, calm down!" Ana shouted, but it was of no use -- the villager was already on her way back to Camelot.

"No!" Merlin called. "Wait!"

Ana smacked the back of Merlin's head -- hard. "You thick-headed moron," she hissed.

* * *

Ana stood with the other servants in the throne room as Uther addressed Cathryn.

"It was sorcery you saw, and you're certain of it?"

Cathryn nodded. "Yes, Sire."

"And you swear this before your King?"

Another nod. "I swear it."

Arthur stood with his arms folded. He leaned forward just slightly. "Perhaps your eyes deceived you, a trick of the light."

Cathryn turned to the prince. "The smoke was alive, I tell you. I feared for my life."

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention," Uther said. "Your loyalty will not go unrewarded."

"Thank you, Sire."

Ana watched as a knight escorted the woman out of the throne room. Uther addressed all who listened. "It cannot continue."

"I will hunt down those responsible, father. I promise they will not escape unpunished."

"No. Stronger methods are called for. Send for the Witchfinder."

There was a unanimous gasp and for the first time, Ana saw true fear reflected in the physician's eyes. "Sire, is it necessary to resort to such measures?"

"The witchfinder is a trusted ally, Gaius. His help will be invaluable."

Gaius bowed his head. "Of course."

Ana wanted to leave with Merlin and Gaius, mostly so she could hit him as hard as she could with something while Gaius lectured him on hiding his magic, but Gwen gestured for Ana to follow her.

* * *

"Do you see now? Why you absolutely cannot practice magic? Even the townsfolk are against you." Ana nodded as Gwen sighed and sat down on her bed. "What were you thinking?"

Ana was surprised, but she couldn't say that it wasn't her, that would arise suspicion in Gwen, and she wasn't about to tell Merlin's secret. "I . . . I wasn't."

"You need to be careful, Ana. You could end up getting yourself killed. I don't know much about this witchfinder, but from the look on Gaius's face, I don't think I want to know him."

Ana nodded as she joined Gwen, who suddenly sat up. "You must hide everything."

"Everything? All I've got is this cloak." _And_ _multiple_ _books, but_ _I'm_ _sure Gaius has that fool on_ _those_.

Gwen walked behind a curtain and came back with a box. "All this must be hidden. I fear that if the witchfinder comes across these, either you or I could be incarcerated."

"What is all this?" Ana asked as Gwen sat the box down.

"I . . . can't say. Not just yet. I think you should hide your cloak too. Please, do not ask me what is in here. Half would not even make sense to you anyway."

"But what is it all?" Ana pressed.

"Ana, please do not ask me questions I cannot answer. These are your possessions, but you are not to use them just yet. There will come a time where you will be returned these strange things . . . but until then I can say nothing on the matter. Here," she added, thrusting the small box to Ana.

Ana tried to lift the lid and peer inside, but it would not budge. She looked to Gwen for an answer.

"It's sealed by your own magic. You cannot open it until you speak your true name, something I do not know."

Ana nodded, understanding that she would get no more out of the handmaiden. "All right then. I suppose I shall have to hide the box."

* * *

Ana followed behind Arthur, hoping to get some knowledge on the witchfinder. She'd gotten back to the castle to find Gaius asleep on his desk and Merlin missing -- along with his prized book of magic. She expected that Merlin was currently hiding the book.

"So where's he been all this time?" the prince asked as he and his father walked into the council chamber.

"In foreign lands," the king answered. "Wherever the pursuit of sorcery takes him.

"He does all this in your name?" Arthur questioned.

"The Witchfinder serves no one. He's a law unto himself."

As he concluded, the witchfinder burst in, not bothering with a greeting. "Do you smell it?" he asked with an angry expression on his face. "Do you smell it, Uther?"

Ana shrank back, half afraid he would smell the magic in her.

"Aredian," Uther greeted.

Ah, so that was his name.

Aredian did not respond. He glanced around fervently. "It's all around us, the foul stench of sorcery. It's infected your great city like a contagion."

Uther did not seem offended, to Ana's surprise. "I welcome you to Camelot, Aredian. Thank you for making such haste to be here."

"Well, let's hope I'm not too late, hmm?" He sounded far too urgent. "For every hour counts in the war against sorcery. Unchecked, it spreads like a disease. It seeks out the young and the old, the weak and the able, the fair and the foul of heart alike. You've grown lazy, Uther. You've grown idle. Your once noble Camelot is rotten to the core. You stand on the brink of dark oblivion."

Arthur stepped forward. "I am at your disposal, Aredian. The knights will aid you in any way they can."

"You must be Arthur."

"I must be."

"You're a great warrior. The finest this kingdom has ever known."

Ana rolled her eyes. It was true, of course, but she'd never admit it to the prince and help him grow his own ego.

"Thank you," the prince said with a nod.

"So you won't be offended when I say that I shall have no need of you or your knights. The subtle craft of sorcery can only be fought by yet subtler means, methods honed over decades of study, methods known only to myself."

Ana snorted involuntarily and Arthur gave her a fierce glare. They'd come to the agreement that she should be allowed to follow him around in her pursuit of information if she would be silent. Aredian stared at Ana curiously while she stared back with wide eyes. "And who is this?"

"She's a servant," Uther said, dismissing Aredian's interest in Ana. "We are grateful for your help."

Aredian turned his gaze on Uther. "But gratitude alone can't keep a man alive. You must put food in his belly."

"I will pay your price, Aredian, whatever it may be."

"I will bid you goodnight."

Arthur started forward as the witchfinder turned to leave. "Aredian, when do you begin?"

"I've already begun," he said, giving Ana a look that made her feel as if a spider had been thrown down the back of her dress.

After a moment, she followed Arthur out of the council chambers. "Right, that's it. Deal's out, get lost."

Ana rolled her eyes. "It was _one sound_ , my Lord. I'll do my best to remain silent in the future."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine, but for tonight, you're done."

* * *

Ana was walking behind Merlin and Gaius as they roamed the lower town. She could not clearly recall why they were out. She shivered suddenly and when she looked up, Aredian was standing before the physician.

"Gaius, isn't it? I never forget a face."

Ana tried to be invisible as Gaius regarded the man before him. "Nor I, Aredian."

"A physician now, I hear. You always did have a thirst for knowledge."

"Scientific knowledge."

"Of course."

There was silence as Ana's gaze flickered between the two.

"My assistant," Gaius said after a moment, "Merlin."

"Merlin," Aredian repeated.

"And my ward, Ana."

Aredian did not repeat Ana's name, simply dragged his eyes down from her head to her feet, studying her. Ana wondered why she hadn't been introduced as Gaius's second assistant -- or even as Merlin's friend.

"May your investigation prove fruitful, Aredian. However, you'll have to excuse us, we have work to do."

"Naturally," the witchfinder said, stepping out of the path. "Merlin? I have a few questions I would like you to answer. Please be at my chambers in an hour."

* * *

Ana paced the hallway outside Arthur's chambers. Merlin still had not returned from Aredian's questioning and she was beginning to get worried. She wondered if Arthur would help her make sure Merlin was all right.

But she should not be seen with Arthur by Aredian. Twice now he had regarded her with the same cold stare and she was not about to give him a reason to point a finger at her. For all she knew, she'd probably end up being accused of bewitching the prince into speaking with her.

It was when she decided to leave Arthur's chambers, that the door opened.

"When I said you were done for the night, I did not expect to see you here first thing today."

The words fell out of Ana's mouth in a rush. "Aredian was stalking us in the town and he saw Merlin and me with Gaius and he wanted to talk to Merlin and Merlin hasn't come back yet and I'm getting slightly worried because what if Aredian accuses Merlin of sorcery and -- woah!"

Arthur grabbed Ana's arm and pulled her into his chambers, closing the door behind him. "You would do well to watch what you say when he is among us. I've heard tales from my father, and it seems Aredian can find sorcery wherever it may or may not be."

Ana frowned. "Where it may _not_ be? Wouldn't that be false accusations?"

"It would, but one can hardly argue if there's valid proof."

Ana's frown deepened. "False evidence?"

Arthur shrugged, dismissing how interested Ana seemed to be in his words. "But this is Merlin. If that boy could wield magic, he'd end up killing himself by mistake."

Ana snorted, thinking of all the times Merlin's magic had been what saved the day. She had experienced it, but Gaius often relayed past stories to her when they walked in the town.

"You think I'm lying? Have you ever seen Merlin do something absolutely correctly?"

Ana was about to give Arthur one of her amusing quips, but Leon entered the room. "The king calls for your presence, sire." He noticed Ana. "And Gaius requests yours."

* * *

Aredian presented three women to the court. Ana stood with Gwen and Merlin, hoping Aredian would not see her.

"Speak," he said. "Do not be afraid."

The first one took a deep breath. "I . . . I was drawing water from the well, Sire, when I saw them . . . faces in the water. Terrible faces, like people who were drowned, screaming. Screaming."

Ana heard Merlin whisper to Gaius. "I haven't done anything, I promise."

She said the same to the dark-skinned maid when Gwen's questioning gaze bore into her.

"Tell them what you saw," Aredian said, gesturing for the second woman to speak.

"A goblin dancing on the coals. it was dancing in the flames, and it spoke, Sire. My heart near stopped for fear of it."

"As you've heard, My Lord, the incident in the woods was only the beginning, hmm?"

Ana glared at Aredian, hoping to set his robes alight or something of the sort.

The third woman spoke when Aredian gestured for her to. "There was a sorcerer, Sire, in the square. There were creatures jumping right out of his mouth."

"And what manner of creature?" Aredian questioned.

"Toads, Sire. Great green, slimy things as big as your fist."

"The sorcerer laughs in your face," Aredian told the king. "Even now magic flourishes on the streets of Camelot."

"I can scarcely believe it," Uther said.

 _Because_ _it's_ _not true, you asswipe_ , Ana said in her head to the back of the king's head, looking like she was staring at a simpleton.

"Yet it is the truth, My Lord. Fortunately, I've utilised every facet of my craft to bring this matter to a swift resolution."

Uther looked rather alert and sat up straighter. "The sorcerer? You have a suspect?"

"Oh, I do, My Lord. I regret to say, they stand among us in this very room. My methods are infallible, my findings incontestable! The facts point to one person and one person alone: the boy, Merlin!" Ana gasped -- along with others -- as Aredian pointed at her fellow magician.

"Merlin?" Arthur blurted. "You can't be serious."

"This is outrageous!" Gaius shouted. "You have no evidence!"

"The tools of magic cannot be hidden from me. I am certain that a thorough search of the boy's chamber will deliver us all we need."

"Merlin?" the king questioned.

"I have nothing to hide from him," Merlin said, standing tall, despite the great fear Ana could sense radiating off him.

"Very well. Guards, restrain the boy. Let the search begin."

* * *

Ana stood aside, clutching her skirts as guards ransacked the physician's chambers.

"Careful, please!" Gaius shouted. "That's my life's work!"

"Comb every inch," Aredian ordered. "The sorcerer is a master of concealment." He gave Ana a sinister look and Ana shuffled behind Gaius, watching Aredian over his shoulder. Ana did not like the way the witchfinder looked at her.

"There's nothing here, Aredian!" Arthur called as another stack of medicinal books were overturned

"I'll be the judge of that," Aredian told the prince, before barking orders to the guards. "Over there behind this tapestry. In there, upend that stool. Be sure to check for hollow legs. In there within those powder jars."

Leon gave the blonde maid a pitiful glance as he held up a bracelet. Ana stared at him, but she said nothing, knowing that the knight was simply doing his job.

"Here!" the knight called.

Aredian plucked it from Leon's hand and inspected it. "An amulet of enchantment . . . Were you aware, physician, that your assistant kept instruments of sorcery?" he asked.

"No," Gaius said.

"Well, our work is done. I must inform the King."

Ana shook her head slightly. She'd get Merlin out of this one, she knew she had to. After all, he had been there to aid her when she needed. She would lie, make up a story about the amulet. She would --

"Aredian! I know for certain that that amulet does not belong to Merlin."

Ana glanced at the physician. What on earth was he doing?

"Oh?" Aredian paused in his tracks and turned around. "Well, who does it belong to, then?"

"It belongs to me."

Aredian wore a wicked grin and Ana's heart dropped to her stomach.

"Restrain him," the witchfinder said.

Only when Leon gently guided Gaius away after cuffing his hands behind his back did Ana spring into action.

"No! Gaius! You liar!" she screamed at Aredian, lurching forward. Arthur grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the floor. Gaius nodded grimly to the prince, who returned the gesture and allowed Aredian to lead Gaius out, all while Ana screamed and kicked, swearing with foreign words that easily conveyed the great severity of her insults.

Once the doors closed, Arthur let go of the maid and spun her around to face him, holding tight to her wrists to prevent her from running off, beating him, or both.

"How many times must I tell you to watch what you say, Ana? You're going to get yourself thrown into a cell right next to your beloved Gaius. Have you not seen the brutality of Aredian? Do you want him to condemn you, too? And Merlin?"

"But he's _lying_ , Arthur," Ana said, tears in her crystal blue eyes. "I've never seen that bracelet before, it does not belong to any of us."

"That does not matter. My father is against sorcery to his very core. Any person to whom Aredian points is in grave danger. I've seen the way he looks at you, Ana, and I know he would very much like to have you in Gaius's place."

Ana stopped trying to break out of Arthur's grasp, but the prince did not notice. "You're going to bruise my wrists, my lord," she said softly.

Arthur let go immediately. "Stay here, I'm going to fetch Merlin."

Ana nodded.

"And are you to wait upon us at dinner tonight?" Arthur raised his eyebrows, asking a question very different from his words. _Would_ _you like to_ _listen_ _to what Aredian has to say to the king?_

Ana nodded once again and sat down on her bed once Arthur left.

* * *

She'd cried and clung to Merlin as she relayed the story, but by dinner time, she had wiped her tears and stood behind the king with a look of impassivity on her pale face.

"Gaius served me with unfailing dedication. Without his knowledge, his wisdom, I would not be sitting here today." The king stabbed the food on his plate with his fork as he spoke.

Aredian glanced at the king. "You show great faith in him, sire. Great faith, indeed, considering he was known to practice sorcery."

"Gaius?" Arthur asked. "You are mistaken."

"No, Arthur. He speaks the truth. I'm well aware of his past, but I have every reason to believe he's turned his back on sorcery."

"Until now."

Ana gripped the pitcher tighter and the wine lapped inside, a rather loud 'plink' in the brief silence of the dining hall. Arthur glanced at her in slight fear that she might try to murder Aredian in front of Uther.

"We don't know that," Uther said. "And this amulet you found, it could just be a stupid mistake."

"Or maybe he's fallen back into old habits."

Ana's knuckles were beginning to turn white and her impassive look gave way to a seething glare that rested on none other than the witchfinder.

"We must give him the benefit of the doubt, surely?" Arthur said as he came back to the conversation.

"Why? Anyway, there's a sure way to establish his guilt."

"I know your methods are effective, Aredian, but Gaius is an old man. He could not withstand such treatment."

"It's the only way to rid your mind of doubt."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him," Ana told Merlin the next morning. "I'm going to take Arthur's sword and I'm going to run him through, and if I can't get my hands on Arthur's sword, I'm going to slit that bastard's throat with my dagger."

"You're going to end up tearing that shirt, Ana," Merlin muttered, watching her drive it into the washboard with fierce determination.

Ana lifted her head sharply, her blonde braid whipping back. "It's either the shirt or Aredian, and while I'd absolutely love to drag that man's face up and down this rotten thing, I need to be _out_ of the dungeon to get Gaius out."

Merlin smiled. "Very well, kill the shirt. Listen," he added, lowering his voice, "do you think the dragon could help?"

Ana scoffed. "That arrogant beast? It's more a question of if he _would_ help. All the same, it can't hurt to ask. We're low on ideas as it is."

Merlin tilted his head and looked at Ana. "You don't like him much. Why is that?"

Ana dropped the shirt into the soapy water and sat down on the stool. She pushed stray locks of hair away from her face with the back of her hand before flicking soap bubbles away.

"He is arrogant, incredibly so. He thinks he is so superior, and that he has all the knowledge. I find it increasingly bothersome that a creature with the potential to be majestic and something to be marvelled at has become bitter and something I wish to scorn upon."

"He _has_ been locked up for twenty or so years beneath the castle of a man who killed off his kind."

Ana shrugged. "So he's the last of his kind. Must that turn him bitter? Must that make him believe he is above us because we are human? I once knew someone who was the very last of his kind, and unlike that beast down there, he was the reason for the loss of his people and he . . . he was one of the kindest and most loving souls I ever knew."

Merlin's eyes widened. "I thought you had no memory of your life before you woke up in Gaius's chambers."

Ana shrugged. "There are pieces that hit me upside the head now and then. Mention of a name or a phrase usually sets a memory off . . . Go on, now, I should get a move on, too. I have arranged with Arthur to be present when he is with the king and that despicable human. I hope to learn something useful."

Merlin nodded and left Ana to complete the laundry before she left in search of the prince.

* * *

Ana did not find Arthur. Instead, she noticed Aredian lead Morgana into his chambers. She frowned and spied until she could no longer see them.

"Would you like to explain yourself?"

Ana stood up sharply, forgetting that she had been crouching under a torch. The cone of firelight flew up and she caught it effortlessly. "My lord, I was just . . . cleaning the . . . walls?"

"Hm, I was not aware the walls needed cleaning."

"Oh, they do. Big day for the walls today, I've actually just started."

Arthur took the torch from Ana and put it back in its holder. "What are you _really_ doing, Ana?"

She sighed. "I was spying on the pile of excretion. I saw him with Morgana and I'm half afraid he will end up throwing her in jail or tricking her into lying about something or the other that will further make Gaius look guilty."

"Right . . . I'll say this just once. Stop spying on Aredian. Gaius is not guilty, so you have nothing to worry about. If I catch you --"

"I don't need to hear the whole spiel, Arthur. I'll leave, thy royal assface-ness."

Arthur folded his arms and watched Ana walk away. He noticed then that something was missing. Usually, she had a bit more style to her leave following an insult or a bit of sass.

Her cloak . . . that crimson cloak was missing. He wondered what had happened to it.

* * *

Arthur forbade her from spying on Aredian, but he said nothing of speaking to Morgana. Conveniently enough, Ana was dusting the furniture in Morgana's chambers when the king's ward entered.

"What happened, my lady?"

Morgana sat down on her bed. "He just wanted to know about the sleep draughts Gaius prepares. I told the truth, of course."

Ana nodded. She didn't have a clue how to further wheedle information out of the raven-haired woman.

"But I think he's convinced Gaius is a sorcerer. He asked me if I knew what was in the draught and if both you and Merlin had a hand in it. I said I didn't know."

Ana smiled warmly at her. "You told the truth, my lady. I must be on my way, I told Merlin I would help him with his chores.

* * *

She didn't make it to Gaius's chambers because Merlin bumped into her and informed her that the king was calling the council to the chambers. Neither of them was prepared to miss Aredian's next set of lies.

Ana nearly hissed as Aredian mercilessly threw Gaius to his knees before the court. "Confess!" he shouted. "Confess for all to hear!"

Gaius glanced at the two children he had taken care of before facing Uther. "I . . . I am a sorcerer, Sire. I am responsible for conjuring the smoke. I'm guilty of practising magic in Camelot, the goblin, the faces in the well, I . . . I am the sorcerer who conjured the toad from his mouth."

There was silence in the council chamber, and Ana felt as if she could hear thundering hearts -- until she realised it was her own.

"You've betrayed me, Gaius. Betrayed your friends. And above all, you've betrayed yourself. By the laws of Camelot, I must sentence you to death."

Aredian smiled evilly. "The sorcerer will be purged of his magic by means of fire! He shall be burnt at the stake tomorrow at dawn! Bear witness and heed this lesson!"

The guards dragged Gaius from the room and both Merlin and Ana charged at Aredian.

"You're a liar!" Merlin shouted while Ana seemed unable of making any noise other than violent yelling.

Arthur grabbed them both by the wrist, mildly surprised that he was able to hold on to them both.

"Guards!" the king called.

"You're a liar!" Merlin screamed at Aredian. Ana was still calling him multiple names with words Arthur was sure should be considered curses.

"I'll deal with this," Arthur told the guards, pushing past them.

* * *

Arthur found that grabbing each servant by the ear proved more effective and succeeded in reaching the dungeons without either of them running off.

Ana cursed Arthur and continued to do so vehemently after he let go of them, but Merlin attempted to take a swing at the prince. Ana paused her name-calling to scoff as Arthur easily blocked Merlin and twisted his servant's arm behind his back.

"I know you're upset. I know you're angry. It's alright. I'm not throwing you in jail. Either of you."

"Then what are you doing?" Ana asked as Arthur let Merlin go.

"I'm breaking the law," he said, grabbing the keys from his belt and opened the gate to Gaius's cell. "I can only give you a few minutes.

"They wouldn't let me see you," Merlin said as he hugged the physician tight. "There was nothing I could do."

"I know. I understand."

He gently pushed Merlin away and opened his arms to the trembling Ana, who did not hesitate to fall into them.

"I can't believe it," Merlin mumbled. "I can't believe Uther would do this to you."

"He had no choice," Gaius told him as he comfortingly stroked Ana's head. "Once Aredian had found the amulet . . ."

"I didn't even know you had such a thing," Merlin said.

"It isn't mine."

"Why did you say it was?"

"I was trying to protect you."

Merlin paused before speaking. "I don't know what to say."

"It's alright, Merlin. You don't have to say anything."

"Yeah, I do. The amulet isn't mine either."

Gaius pulled away and held Ana at arm's length, looking at her. "Did you recognise that amulet? Might it have been yours?"

Ana shook her head. "I would have remembered if it were a thing of mine. Aredian planted it there, I know it."

"Aredian?"

"There's no other explanation," Ana said. "He's a ruthless man and he deserves to be burnt at the stake."

"But why?" Gaius asked.

"It doesn't matter why," Merlin said, realisation dawning on him. "All that matters is, if I can prove he planted it, you're saved."

"No," Gaius said. "You must let this go. Both of you."

Ana shook her head. "No, you're falsely accused. We have a chance to prove that. We _have_ to take that chance."

"No, Ana. You must not. Merlin, do you understand me?"

"No, I don't. Do you want to die?"

Gaius shook his head. "No. But neither do I want either of you to die. And die you surely will if you get too close to Aredian. He will trap you, Merlin. Ana, he will manipulate you, and without ever meaning to, you will incriminate yourself. You must let this go."

"I must let you go?" Merlin asked.

"I can't," Ana said. "You've been nothing short of fatherly to me ever since I woke up in your chambers. You want me to let go of the only parent I've ever known?"

"To do otherwise would be an act of suicide."

* * *

Ana figured if she could say screw it to the prince's orders regarding the witchfinder, she had the guts to say screw it to Gaius's.

She retrieved her cloak -- despite the danger it may cause to her -- and stood in the dungeons outside Gaius's cell and watched Aredian enter.

"Ah, Gaius. Well, I hope you've found some relief now that your ordeal is over."

The old man spared him a glare. "Your concern is touching, Aredian. Now, will you please get out of my sight?"

Aredian threw his head back in mock laughter. "Ha! Of course. I just thought you'd want to hear the news, that's all."

"What news?"

Aredian smirked. "My investigations have begun."

"Begun? But you already extracted my confession."

Ana's frown echoed Gaius's confused words.

"Indeed. Which just leaves Merlin and the Lady Morgana -- and that sweet little ward of yours. What was her name? Annie?"

"But we struck a bargain." Gaius did not correct Aredian, he was far too preoccupied with the underlying threat.

"Oh, I don't bargain with sorcerers," the witchfinder said darkly.

Once Aredian left, Ana sprinted out the back gate and dropped to her knees in the fields. She felt as if she could not breathe. Her chest was tight, her heart heavy, and her lungs felt like they were being squeezed of all the air they contained.

She could not shed a tear. The most she could manage was a strangled gasping sound every so often when she was beginning to suffocate from the lack of air in her lungs.

Gaius had confessed in order to save her, Merlin and Morgana. And now it would all go to waste, all because Aredian was a cruel man.

She closed her eyes and put her head on the ground, still struggling to breathe properly.

_Merlin?! He won't let go! He won't stop!_

The voice belonged to Gwen. Ana didn't open her eyes nor lift her head. The picture would form soon enough if it was meant to.

_What happened?_

Ana nearly stopped breathing entirely at the hollowness of Merlin's voice.

_The Witchfinder's questioning Morgana again. I'm worried, Merlin. She's close to breaking point._

She saw a pyre -- probably the one for Gaius -- and then she was looking back inside the castle and at the flustered Gwen.

_Yeah, that's what he does. He breaks you down and in the end, you confess whether you're guilty or not._

She saw Gwen frown through Merlin's clear blue eyes.

_What do you mean?_

There was still the emptiness in Merlin, and Ana hated the feeling. _Gaius was set up. Aredian planted that amulet._

_But why would he do such a thing?_

Ana thought of the words as Merlin spoke them to Gwen. _Aredian is paid to catch sorcerers. Maybe he doesn't care whether someone is guilty or not. Maybe he gets confessions by lying, by planting evidence, just as long as he gets a confession, he gets his money._

_But even if this is true, what can we do without proof?_

And suddenly, she felt fierce determination emanating from the sorcerer. _Get some._

Ana lifted her head to the fields of Camelot and stood up shakily. She needed to find Merlin and help him take Aredian down.

* * *

" _Tospringe_ ," Ana whispered in the dark room and watched the cupboard unlock itself and spring open.

She pulled her cloak tight around her, the hood obscuring her face. She felt around in the cupboard and her hand hit a glass bottle which she pulled out immediately. The flower petals didn't look very incriminating, but she wasn't about to take any chances. She dropped the bottle into a pocket in her skirt and headed towards the door. She ducked behind it as it flew open, her hand over her mouth. She faced the wall and hoped the cloak covered her completely.

She felt the eyes on her back remain there for a while before they left. With a speed slower than a garden snail, Ana turned around. Aredian had just disappeared behind a folding screen.

She bolted, taking zigzag turns and the longest route possible before she burst into the physician's chambers and banged the door shut, leaning against it and breathing heavily from her sprint, surprising both Merlin and Gwen.

* * *

"This is hopeless!" Gwen cried.

"Keep looking," Merlin said, not lifting his head from the book he was paging through.

Gwen closed her book with a sigh. "We don't even know if this flower means anything."

"No, we don't," Merlin agreed, "but it's all we've got."

"It's called Belladonna," Ana stated, dropping her book over all the others on the table and pointing. "For the alleviation of ulcers, allergies, and muscular inflammation . . ." she read.

"This is hopeless," Gwen said with a resigned look.

Merlin peered closer. "No, wait. Listen, under certain conditions, a tincture of the flower can produce hallucinations."

"So?" Gwen asked.

"Aredian's witnesses," Ana said. "It wasn't magic they were seeing, it was visions."

"It makes sense if he's faking the evidence," Gwen said. "But how can we prove it?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, Aredian's too clever to have given the tincture to them directly. The witnesses, they must've got it from someone else."

"They could've been getting it from anyone," Ana mumbled.

"Is there anything, _anything_ at all that these people had in common?"

"They were all women," Gwen offered.

"No, that doesn't tell us anything."

"Yes, it does," Ana said, glancing at Gwen. "What's the one thing only women would buy?"

Gwen smiled. "Things to make them look beautiful."

* * *

Merlin had wanted to talk to Gaius. Ana suggested he convince the man that neither of them was following up on their suspicions of Aredian.

Gwen and Ana raced through the town, with the dark of the night for cover. They stopped in front of the door to the apothecary and Ana knocked sharply. The man who opened was old but surely younger than Gaius.

"Gwen?" he seemed to recognise the castle maid as they both stepped inside.

"Do you sell a tincture of Belladonna?" Ana asked.

"Please," Gwen begged, clasping her hands together, "it's important."

"Well, I -- I think I've got some somewhere, but what you'd be wanting with eye drops in the middle of the night, I really don't want to know."

"Eye drops," Ana repeated, understanding how the women were exposed to the Belladonna.

"Yes. Women use them to make their eyes more beautiful."

"Where did you get this?" Ana asked the apothecary.

"Well, my usual suppliers."

"Sure you didn't get it from someone else?" Ana questioned.

"Of course I'm sure. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to get some sleep."

"It was Aredian who gave you the Belladonna," Gwen asked softly, "wasn't it?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Ana stepped towards the man with a harsh frown. "But you know that Gaius is going to be executed tomorrow, don't you?"

"That has nothing to do with me."

"That has everything to do with you! Aredian's witnesses saw visions. Visions produced by the Belladonna in these eye drops! If we can prove this, we have a chance of saving Gaius."

"Ana," Gwen said, her hand circling Ana's wrist, lest the blonde tried to attack the apothecary, who now sighed dejectedly.

"He forced me to sell it. He, he said he'd kill me if I said anything to anyone."

"It was him? It was Aredian?"

"Yes, it was him."

Gwen and Ana shared a hopeful glance before they both faced the apothecary. "Thank you."

* * *

Merlin snatched up the tincture and the Belladonna petals gleefully. "So they were using eye drops! We've got everything we need now!"

"But is it enough?" Gwen asked.

Merlin glanced between the two maids. "We've got a witness as well. Surely that's enough?"

"It's still just our word against Aredian's, though," Ana said.

"We don't have a choice! By dawn tomorrow Gaius will be dead."

"Merlin," Gwen said, "we've only got one chance at this. We've got to give Uther something he cannot deny. Something not even Aredian can talk his way out of."

"What?"

"Well," Ana said slowly, forgetting that Gwen had no knowledge of Merlin's magic, or any inkling that Merlin knew of Ana's, "isn't it best to fight fire with fire?"

She also conveniently forgot about the fact that Merlin was unaware that Gwen knew more about Ana than the blonde maid herself.

"What are you talking about?" they both asked.

Ana did not realise her small mistake. "I'm talking about _magic_ ," she whispered. "Cursing the very man who -- oh, dear."

Merlin and Gwen were both giving Ana a stern look that was clearly meant to tell her to stop talking.

"Don't look at me like that, you two. It was bad enough you both knew about me, I figured it was best if you both thought you were the only one. Besides, we have more pressing matters to deal with than my magic. Now, listen close . . ."

* * *

The entire trek to Aredian's chambers, Ana mentally beat herself up over her small slip. She'd have to explain herself to them both, now. And Gaius! What was he going to say?

She crept into the room and made her way back to the cupboard she'd taken the belladonna from.

" _Hlyste min níehst bebod_."

She had mastered the spell nearly twenty minutes ago, and she hoped it worked. She turned and glared at Aredian, deciding to take her plan one step further.

She held her hand over the witchfinder's throat and with a wicked glint in her eye, she whispered, " _Ceolwærc_."

"Good riddance, you devil," she whispered as she snuck back out.

* * *

Merlin paced the length of Gaius's chambers, while Gwen stood at the window, watching the sunrise.

"Where _is_ she?" Merlin asked again.

Neither of them spoke about the fact that they both somehow knew about Ana's magic.

"You remember what she said, though?"

Merlin nodded. "Delay the execution if she doesn't make it to Arthur in time."

"It looks like you and I have some work to do." She turned away from the window. "Aredian just left to fetch Gaius."

"Right, how are we meant to do this?"

"See if you can find Ana, I'm going after Arthur."

Merlin nodded and they both left the physician's chambers.

* * *

Ana had decided on a split-second change of plan and headed after Uther, and Merlin found her tearing through the castle to find the king.

Gwen managed to catch up to Arthur as Aredian dragged Gaius from his cage.

"Arthur!" she called, "Arthur! Arthur, you've got to stop this."

The prince turned to find the young maid in front of him. "I can't, Gwen. You know I can't."

"Merlin and Ana have proof that Gaius is innocent," she said.

Arthur shook his head. "My father's already past sentence. There's nothing I can do."

Gwen looked slightly furious. "You can do the right thing, Arthur Pendragon! You can show some faith in a loyal friend, or you can stand by and watch an innocent man die!"

"Guinevere . . ." Arthur's voice took on a warning tone, but Gwen was not deterred.

"You did it once before to my father; are you really willing to let it happen again? And you can stop looking at me like that, I know I'm only a servant! I thought you were a prince, so start behaving like one!"

Arthur studied Gwen for a moment before turning back as Aredian lowered the torch to the pyre. "Wait!"

Gwen heaved a sigh of relief just as Ana and Merlin caught up to the king.

* * *

"Sire," Merlin began, "the witnesses saw nothing but hallucinations induced by the Belladonna in these eye drops."

Uther addressed the three women. "And you bought this Belladonna from this man?" he asked, gesturing to the apothecary.

They all nodded.

Uther faced the old man. "Where did you get it from? Don't be afraid, no harm will come to you here."

The old man glanced around, finding encouraging nods from three servants.

"The Witchfinder," he said. "He gave them to me."

"Did he tell you what it was for?" Uther asked.

"No," the apothecary said, shaking his head. "Only that if I did not sell it, he'd have me burnt at the stake."

"How do you answer to these accusations?" Uther asked Aredian.

"They're absurd. The boy has clearly concocted these lies in the hope of saving his master."

Ana sneered at him. "Then you won't mind if we search your chamber, will you?" she asked, sounding more like mockery.

The last time Merlin spoke out of turn, he was silenced and told he had no authority to do such things. Ana expected the same but was surprised when all she received was a dismissive wave from Uther.

"Father . . ." the prince said as he stepped forward. "Let's settle this once and for all. If what Merlin says is wrong, he must bear the consequences. But if there is some truth in what he says . . ." Arthur stared at his servant, hoping he and Ana were not as stupid as they behaved.

"I have nothing to hide," Aredian said stiffly.

Arthur did not miss the gleeful hop Ana unintentionally gave.

* * *

Ana watched happily as the guards tossed Aredian's chambers like they had done to Gaius' before.

"You're wasting your time," Aredian drawled.

Uther noticed Ana tug at Arthur's sleeve and whisper something to him. She looked slightly afraid of speaking aloud, and when she locked her gaze with the king's, she bore a doe-eyed expression of pure innocence, which was why Uther said nothing when Arthur merely nodded to her and repeated her words to the guards.

"The cupboard over there," the prince said, gesturing to the very same one Ana had cast her spell over.

One of the guards opened it and dozens of amulets spilled from within -- and a stash of Belladonna tincture.

Arthur glanced to his side to see Ana nearly bouncing in joy.

"These things don't belong to me!" Aredian cried. "This is a trick!"

He coughed once. "That boy plots against me!"

Unaware of Arthur's gaze on her, Ana stared hard at the witchfinder with a malicious look on her face, very unlike the innocent expression she had given Uther.

Aredian attempted to clear his throat and a toad hopped out. Merlin jumped back in surprise, Gwen and Morgana stared in disbelief, the guards looked unsure of what do to, Arthur watched Ana look like she had won some great battle, and Uther shouted, "Sorcerer!"

Furious, Aredian grabbed a dagger and Morgana, holding it at her throat. In true Ana fashion, the blonde maid resorted to making some strange hissing sound, not unlike a cat.

"Aredian, think carefully about what you're doing," Uther said. "You will never escape from Camelot alive."

"I will if you value the life of your ward. Hmm?"

Ana rolled her eyes. Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he whispered, " _Forbærnan_."

Ana waited until Aredian dropped the burning dagger before grabbing Morgana's wrist and wrenching her away from the man and managing to give him a nice, subtle shove backwards. She practically handed Morgana to Gwen and turned in time to watch Aredian trip over a box and stumble out of the window.

She smiled.

* * *

"YOU KILLED A MAN, ANA!"

"SO?!"

The careless response stopped Arthur in his tracks. "I knew you were many things, Ana, stupid, reckless, perhaps even loyal and brave, but I _never_ took you for a murderer."

Ana scoffed and folded her arms, turning away from the prince. "Nothing happened that you can prove."

"You pushed him! Everyone saw you!"

"And yet, I'm still a free woman. You'd think someone would have me jailed for such an offence. And right under the king's nose. How careless of me."

"Ana, why would you do that?"

Ana gave Arthur the same innocent expression she used whenever it seemed like Uther suspected something and she was involved. "Why would I do what?"

"I should send you to my father for refusing to answer me. See how you refuse to answer your king."

Ana scoffed again and threw her messy braid over her shoulder. "Your father is _not_ my king, Pendragon."

"You live here, you work here, you are a citizen of Camelot, that makes him your king."

"I refuse."

"You can't _refuse_!" Arthur cried incredulously.

"Watch me."

"What happened to the girl that was all about saving lives?"

Ana shrugged. "I'm still here. I just saved Gaius' life after all."

"Yes, and you killed another man."

Ana shrugged. "For every life I have saved, I've taken another. I'm fairly certain that's the way I was before I woke up here in this stinking city."

Arthur ignored the jab at his kingdom. "Those were different, Ana --"

"How? Cedric was just a sly man and he died when I saved you. Hengist was doing what kept him going all his life and I trapped him with a Wildeorren when I saved Gwen. What makes Aredian so different? He was also just doing what was his speciality."

"You can't just choose who deserves to live and who deserves to die!"

"Tell that to your father, and make sure you bring up all those innocent druids and creatures of magic that died during the Great Purge when you do. If you have no better arguments, I must be on my way. I have to relate the story of frogs from Aredian's mouth to Gaius."

Stunned, Arthur watched Ana leave. Something about her blasé attitude scared him a bit, and he wondered for a moment if he was underestimating her potential as a threat to Camelot.


	8. The Sins of the Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The number of questions Ana has about herself increases -- again  
> The Pendragons are doing a little more than just tolerating Ana these days

"My gold is on this one," Ana whispered to Gwen.

"Arise, Sir Vidor," Uther said, "Knight of Camelot."

"You don't have any gold, Ana," Gwen whispered back.

"Well, I do, and mine is on _this_ one," Morgana commented with a teasing smile as she leaned towards the two maids.

"Arise, Sir Caradoc," Uther continued, "Knight of Camelot."

Ana and Gwen both blushed when they realised Morgana had probably heard the entirety of their conversation -- which mainly including rating the new knights on a number of things, including who could win against Arthur and who looked the best.

 _I can assure you Morgana isn't_ half _as scarred as_ _I_ _am_

Ana smiled in the direction of the warlock across the ceremony hall. She had forgotten about their connection.

_Shut_ _up, Merlin, you know you were_ _rating_ _them too._

_None of them hold a candle to your swordsmanship, though_

_I see you learnt about the_ _places_ _flattery can take you_

Merlin grinned proudly and Ana shook her head with silent laughter.

"You have been accorded a great honour. But with that honour comes great responsibility. From this day forth, you are sworn to live by the knights' code. You have pledged to conduct yourselves with nobility, honour, and respect. Your word is your sacred bond. You will find no one who better embodies these values than my son, Arthur."

Here in Uther's speech, Merlin began to mock the king, mouthing along with ridiculous expressions to the point where Ana gave a short sputtering sort of laugh that was quickly silenced both by her hand and the withering glare from Arthur. Uther _seemed_ to have not noticed.

"Follow his example, and you will prove yourselves worthy of your title."

_Do you hear swords clashing?_

Merlin started to shake his head but then gave Ana a funny look when the entire court turned to the doors at the sounds.

 _I do,_ now _. Thanks for that jinx, Ana._

Ana rolled her eyes as a strange knight entered, clad in armour black as night. The five new knights of Camelot drew their swords as the knight approached. Arthur took a step forward and waited.

Ana studied the stranger, wondering if she could enter the knight's mind the way she did Gwen's. She tried, and when she did, she half wished she hadn't, for all she saw were images of Arthur's head on a sword.

The loud clatter of the knight's gauntlet at Arthur's feet brought Ana back to the present. Arthur moved to pick it up, but Ana -- always ready to defy the norm and ignore her place in the castle -- crossed the hall and pulled him back. She glanced back at the knight before standing on tiptoes to whisper in Arthur's ear.

"She plans to kill you, and trust me, it won't be a good end."

Arthur shrugged her off. "That's usually what a challenge is about, you dunce," he said. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "And just so we're clear, knights are _men_ , and men aren't usually referred to as a 'she', got it?"

Ana yanked on his arm when he knelt again to pick up the gauntlet. She didn't care that the court was watching. She didn't even register that Uther made no move to stop her. "If you pick that thing up, I'll personally chop your head off and save this lunatic the trouble," she threatened at a normal volume.

The knight's helmet creaked as it tilted with the knight's head. Ana almost thought she heard a laugh.

"If you threaten me again, I'll chop _your_ head off." 

"Real mature," Ana mumbled as Arthur picked up the gauntlet. "Die, you ass," she grumbled, folding her arms.

Arthur -- like everyone else -- chose to ignore Ana.

"I accept your challenge," he told the knight, "If I'm to face you in combat, do me the courtesy of revealing your identity."

The knight reached up and pulled at the helmet, allowing long blonde tresses to fall freely.

Ana gave Arthur a smug look. "I'm sorry, your highness, what was that about knights being men?"

"My name is Morgause," the knight said.

* * *

"He's going to fight her tomorrow, I know it."

"I know. You should've heard him arguing with his father and poor Geoffrey."

Gaius flicked his gaze between the two. Merlin was leaning against the wall, his arms folded and staring at a spot on the desk. Ana was seated on the stairs beside a pile of books, her thumbnail between her teeth, staring at a spot on the floor.

"What is the matter with the two of you? This isn't the first time Arthur has been challenged, you know."

"True," Ana said, "but this Mor-goose or whatever just gives off a bad energy. I don't like her."

Merlin raised an eyebrow at her. _What did you see?_

_How did_ _you_ _know_ _I_ _was in her head?_

Merlin grinned at her. _I_ _didn't_ _._ _So_ _, what did you see?_

Ana sighed in defeat. _Arthur's_ _head on her sword._ _She's_ _bad luck, and so is this_ _bloody_ _challenge. What if she_ _miraculously_ _dies before_ _tomorrow_ _?_

Merlin's eyes widened in slight fear. _Ana, no_

"Do you think Uther will kill me for committing a crime or thank me for sparing Arthur from the fight if I kill the goose tonight in her sleep?"

Gaius' head shot up from the book he was reading.

"I'm only joking," Ana said quickly.

"Could've fooled _me_ ," Merlin muttered.

* * *

Ana marched into Arthur's chambers with a sword that she seemed to be testing the weight of.

"You should really consider a rapier for the --"

She stopped abruptly -- words and walk -- when she noticed Arthur leaning towards Merlin, seemingly in the middle of a conversation. "I need you to take a message to Morgause for me. If I'm seen to do it, it could be viewed as cowardice. You must persuade her to withdraw her challenge."

"Oh, let me!" Ana said with a joyful bounce, clasping the sword with both hands so that the length of it rested against her shoulder.

Arthur raised his eyebrows at her. " _You_ might kill her. Let Merlin."

"But I don't want to. _Morgause_ might kill _me_!"

Arthur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But give me that sword first!"

Ana happily handed it over and left with a skip in her step.

"She scares me sometimes," Merlin said.

A good change from the usual mocking Merlin's fear of a woman brought about, Arthur merely nodded. "Especially when she looks happy."

"I'd like to see Morgause challenge Ana."

Arthur scoffed. Merlin got ready to defend his blonde friend, but it appeared it wasn't necessary. "I don't think Morgause would last two seconds against that miscreant."

* * *

Morgause made to immediately corner Ana with a sword, but the young maid's reflexes were faster than that, and she parried it by knocking the sword away with the blade of her dagger flat against her forearm acting as a shield.

"I have a message from Prince Arthur," Ana said. Morgause still held on to her sword, on edge. "He wants you to withdraw your challenge. Arthur has no desire to fight you. Now, if you withdraw, he will grant you safe passage through the kingdom. Leave now, while you still can."

The blonde turned to lay the sword down. "If Arthur has no desire to fight me, perhaps _he_ should withdraw."

Ana gave a barking laugh. "As if! No. He'll, he'll never do that. It's not in him to withdraw."

Morgause gave Ana a strange, placid look. "Then we have that in common."

Ana frowned as she stepped closer. "If you fight him, he will have to treat you as he does any other opponent. It won't matter that you're a woman."

"I do not ask for special treatment," Morgause said.

"Arthur has no quarrel with you. Why would you challenge him?"

Morgause studied the curious expression on Ana's face. "My reasons are not your concern."

Ana tried to enter Morgause's mind again, but the woman seemed to have put up some sort of shield. Ana sighed when she realised she would get nothing by doing magic.

"Don't put Arthur in a position where he's forced to kill you," Ana warned.

"Who's to say _Arthur's_ life won't rest in _my_ hands?"

Ana turned away and left without another word, but Morgause's thoughts were spinning out of control. She stared at the red cloak that swept out of her chambers.

"Could that really be _her_?"

* * *

"I was just thinking," Merlin said, "you remind me a bit of her." He nodded towards the tournament grounds where Morgause waited.

Ana raised an eyebrow. "How so? I don't see it."

Merlin shrugged. "The same blonde locks is an obvious start. I should think yours is slightly shorter, but then again, when have I ever seen you without it braided? But you just look a little like her." He gave Ana a teasing grin. "Maybe you're related to her."

Ana shook her head. "I look a lot like Arthur too. Maybe I'm related to _him_ instead."

"I would offer my apologies that you'd have to be saddled with _that_ for an older brother."

Merlin jerked his thumb towards the prince, who seemed to be having some difficulty getting his helmet on. Ana sighed. "Better the prat than the goose. Let me go help him, or he's really going to die out there."

* * *

"The fight is by the Knights' Rules," Uther called. He glanced down at his son. "And to the death."

"I'm offering you a final chance to withdraw," Arthur said, "I suggest you take it."

Morgause raised her sword.

"Then you leave me no choice."

The engaged with one another, their swords clashing violently. At one point, Arthur managed to catch Morgause in her arm, and Ana cried out foul names to him when he allowed her to pick up her sword.

The blonde knight continued on against Arthur until she disarmed him and had him on the ground, her sword at his chest.

Ana and Merlin were both ready then and there to reveal themselves to the entire kingdom to save Arthur.

"Make me a promise and I will spare your life," Ana heard Morgause said.

"What is it you ask?"

_Don't_ _you do it, you blond_ _eggshell_ _peel_

"Come to me three days hence and accept the challenge I set to you."

"And the nature of this challenge?"

"That is for me to decide. Do I have your word that you will accept, no matter what?"

_I'm_ _warning_ _you_ _, say no to_ _her_

Obviously, Arthur could not hear Ana.

"You have my word."

* * *

Arthur slumped over the table as the night settled over Camelot. Ana rolled her eyes from where she was busy turning the sheets over for the man who apparently couldn't even tie his own shoelaces.

"It could've been worse," Merlin said in an attempt of consolation.

Arthur lifted his head and stared at Merlin. "How, _exactly_ , could it have been worse?"

"You could be dead," Ana suggested. "Dismembered. Decapitated. Permanently scarred. In a coma. Suffering from brain damage. Oh, wait, scratch that last one, you're already --"

"At least I wouldn't have to face everyone if I were dead," Arthur nearly wailed, cutting Ana off. "I've never felt so humiliated in my entire life. I was defeated by a _girl_!"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Ana scoffed as she folded her arms, a playful smirk on her face. "Just ask my good friend Leon if --" Ana broke off with a shriek of a laugh and ducked as a letter opener flew across Arthur's chambers.

"You know," Merlin said, tapping his chin, "I never asked how that went."

"It went fine!" Arthur shouted, the chair scraping the floor loudly as it slid backwards when Arthur stood. "I had her at the point of my sword!"

Ana lifted her head and stared at the two men over Arthur's bed. "Yeah, for a _second_. I could've killed you if it had been a knight's challenge."

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past you to kill me for stepping on the back of your cloak by mistake."

Ana lifted herself onto her knees, her elbows on the edge of the large bed. She pointed her dagger at the prince. "Touch my cloak and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"I could throw you in a cell for threatening me."

Very slowly, Merlin shuffled backwards and sat down in the chair, propping his feet up on the small footstool to watch the argument unfold.

"I'd like to see you _try_ , Mr Royal Fart-bomb!"

"You can't talk to me like that, Miss Low-life slop-smelling dagger-thief!"

Ana laughed. "And how, pray tell, do you plan on stopping me? Are you going to throw your gauntlet at my feet so everyone can see you lose to another blonde girl?"

"You shut up!" Arthur yelled in a fury, snatching up the rapier he had taken from Ana earlier.

"Come and make me, you pitiful child!" Ana cried, rolling over the bed to grab Arthur's own sword and brandish it at him.

Merlin chuckled. "Don't stop on my account," he said when the two of them both stopped to stare at him.

"Get out," Arthur said softly with a grimace of a smile on his face as he pointed to the doors with the rapier. "Both of you."

Giggling, Ana dropped the sword and fled. Merlin gave Arthur an amused look as he followed the blonde maid.

* * *

Ana helped Morgause prepare her horse for travel. She had just tightened the belt of the saddle when Morgause addressed her. "Are you to join the prince in three days?"

Ana scoffed. "Like that fat oaf can stop me. Yes, I will."

Morgause nodded moving to her horse to mount it. "Good, you have a strange relationship with the prince. I don't think I've ever come across a castle maid who did not fear to slander a royal."

Ana shrugged. "I'm slightly suicidal. Maybe homicidal too."

Morgause smiled. "If things had been different, you and I would have been great friends, I'm sure."

Ana did not voice her confusion as Arthur approached. "Is this crooked-nosed knave bothering you?"

Ana spun around, pointing her finger at Arthur. "Listen here, you yaldson --"

Merlin cleared his throat loudly. "Keep the arguing in public to a minimum, please. God, one would think you're a --"

Ana turned her withering glare on the warlock. "Finish that sentence and I'll feed you slop for dinner."

Arthur's horse neighed loudly.

"I shall expect to see you three days hence," Morgause said, turning her attention away from Arthur's horse.

"How will I find you?" Arthur asked, leaving Ana and Merlin to fight.

"When the time comes, you will know your way."

"If I don't show up it might be because I don't know where I'm going."

Ana paused to snicker in amusement.

"The path you must follow will become clear to you," Morgause said, mounting her horse. "I should thank you for allowing me to retrieve my sword."

"I'm starting to wish I hadn't," Arthur mumbled.

"Starting?" Ana muttered, her comment going ignored.

"You showed yourself to be a man of honour. You inherited that trait from your mother."

"You knew my mother?"

"I knew her very well," Morgause said as she whipped the reins of her horse.

"Wait!"

"She's lying," Ana said with a shrug.

* * *

Ana was cleaning up in Morgana's room when she noticed a strange bracelet on the woman's dresser. Curious, Ana picked it up.

It seemed familiar to her. She wondered where she had seen it before. She held it up to the sunlight floating in from Morgana's windows.

She heard someone walk in behind her, but she was far too enthralled by the bracelet.

"I thought you would have left by now."

Ana spun around to face Morgana. "My lady, I was just admiring your -- left where?"

"My apologies," Morgana said with a smile. "I mistook you for Morgause."

"You know, you're the second person to say something like that."

"Well, you can't blame us."

Ana smiled. "The bracelet is beautiful, my lady. Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from Morgause," Morgana said as she walked over. She held out her hand and Ana placed the bracelet in Morgana's palm. "It's helped me get the best night's sleep in years."

"Really?" Ana asked as Morgana examined the bracelet. "Aren't you afraid it's been . . . I don't know, infused with some kind of magic?"

"I don't fear magic," Morgana said, her voice lowered. "Not since I went missing. Didn't Merlin tell you? I was with the Druids."

"The Druids? But they're magic folk. Uther would kill you if he finds out!"

"And he won't. Don't you see?" Morgana held up the bracelet. "Magic can be used for _good_!"

Ana so desperately wanted to voice her agreement, but Morgause didn't seem like a woman who used magic for good. So she chose to say nothing on the matter.

"I must be on my way, my lady. Gwen has requested that I help her with the laundry today."

"Of course. You won't tell, will you?"

Ana smiled. "Of course not."

* * *

Ana was walking past Arthur's chambers later that evening when she noticed something off.

"Why are you here?" she asked the guards when she doubled back.

"The king has confined the prince to his chambers."

"Ah . . . is he allowed visitors?"

The guards shared a glance before shrugging at Ana, who shrugged as well and pushed the door open.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone mad yet," she told the prince, who was pacing his chambers.

"Where's Merlin?"

Ana frowned. "Well, hello to you too, asshole. He's busy with Gaius, he'll be around shortly. I hear you've been confined?"

"My father does not want me to meet with Morgause."

"Screw him," Ana said and she flicked her hand in the air. "It's not like that'll stop you anyway."

"You . . . are so _rude_."

Ana ignored it. "I mean, you have no clue what the goose wants from you, yet you're still going to go. It's as if you've got a death wish."

Arthur folded his arms. "You want to come with."

"Well, of course. Do you think I want to be around when your father finds you missing and Gaius realises Merlin is gone too? Honestly, you're dumber than I thought!"

"Ana. Shut up."

"Here, let me," she said when she noticed Arthur struggling with his chest plate. "Honestly, what would you do without Merlin and me?"

"Probably have some peace and -- OW!"

Ana smiled sweetly as she loosened the strap she had just pulled on. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"Yes!"

"Oops. I'll try not to do it again."

Ana was swinging Arthur's sword around when he next made a comment about her incompetence, so she hit the back of his head with the hilt of the sword. It wasn't with much force, but enough to cause Arthur to cry out and then attempt to snatch the sword away.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked when he walked in to find Ana perched on the bedpost, leaning against the canopy, dangling a sword down, while Arthur was in the midst of climbing onto his mattress to try to get his sword back.

"Nothing," the blondes said, both jumped back to the floor and standing with their hands behind their backs, giving Merlin innocent looks.

Merlin eyed them both suspiciously before producing a rope. "I found you a way out."

Ana snorted. "I'm going to watch this from outside. I'll have three horses ready when you boys decide to stop bickering."

Merlin's jaw dropped. "You were the one sitting up there like some _bird_!"

Ana ignored them both as she skipped out of Arthur's chambers.

Once she had the three horses, she made her away round to Arthur's window to see the prince hanging halfway down.

"What are you doing?" Arthur hissed. "Lower the rope!"

"There is no more rope! I don't know if I can hold on much longer!"

"Merlin, do not let go of the ro --"

Ana giggled as Arthur fell face-first into a pile of dung. "Shut up!" Arthur whispered loudly.

* * *

"Which way?" Merlin asked as he came up beside Arthur.

"Do you actually know where we're going?" Ana asked as her horse stopped on his right.

"It's this way," Arthur said, trying to steer his horse to the right. "Come on. What is wrong with this horse? It's even dumber than _you_ , Merlin!"

"Where are you going?" Merlin asked as Arthur passed in front of him. "I thought you said it was right?"

"It's not me! It's the horse! Morgause told me. When the time comes, you'll know your way."

"So the horse knows where we're going," Ana said as she stopped beside Merlin.

" _Great_ ," Merlin said.

* * *

The rising of the sun seemed to have made everyone one more chatty.

"What if Morgause challenges you to do something you don't want to do?"

"I'm not expecting it to be easy, Merlin. That's why it's called a challenge."

"So you'd do anything she asks of you?"

"I gave her my word, Ana. It's a question of honour."

"What if she challenges you to do something even less honourable than breaking your word?"

"Will you two stop rabbitting on? We're in Odin's territory. We could be attacked at any second."

Merlin, of course, continued. "I just think it's strange to agree to do something when you don't know what it is."

"One more word out of you, Merlin, and you'll be taking the challenge in my place."

It was just as well that Odin's men chose that moment to attack. Ana watched as Merlin hid to cast his magic and smiled. At least there he was safe.

Ana, on the other hand, drew the sword Arthur insisted she keep and jumped into the fray with the prince.

Between Arthur and Ana's sword fighting, and Merlin and Ana's magic, the attackers all lay motionless in a matter of minutes.

"Don't worry, Merlin. We'll deal with this," Arthur said, gesturing between himself and Ana with his sword, "you lie there, make yourself comfortable."

Ana offered Merlin an apologetic shrug, and Merlin responded by making a face at Arthur's back. "Maybe we should turn back. The woods could be full of Odin's men."

"You can go back if you want to, I won't stop you," Arthur said, sheathing his sword again. "Both of you."

"You don't know anything about Morgause! You don't know what she's gonna ask you to do! We don't even know where we're going, we're following a _horse_!"

Ana put her hand on Merlin's shoulder, hoping he would stop arguing. She knew why Arthur wanted to find Morgause. After all, she had been in Arthur's head every few minutes.

"Morgause said she knew my mother."

* * *

"What was your mother like?"

Ana poked at the wood of the campfire with a long stick, knowing better than to step into a conversation between the prince and his servant when they spoke calmly and softly with one another.

"I never knew her. She died before I opened my eyes."

"I'm sorry."

"I barely know anything about her."

"Can't you ask your father?"

Ana lifted her head to see Arthur shaking his. "He refuses to talk about her. It must be too painful for him. Sometimes it's as if she never even existed. I still have a sense of her. Almost as though she's part of me."

Ana turned her gaze to Merlin, who nodded slowly. "That's the same with my father. I never knew him. And my mother's barely spoken of him. I've got this . . . vague memory. It's probably just my imagination."

"I'd do anything for even the vaguest memory," Arthur confessed, picking at the grass beneath them.

"Is that why you're so determined to find Morgause?" Ana asked. "To see what she knows about your mother?"

"Is that so wrong?" Arthur asked.

"Not at all," Ana said with a smile that didn't look very happy.

Arthur noticed. "What about you? You don't seem to talk much about your family."

Ana shrugged. "I don't remember them. I barely even remember myself before waking up in Camelot.

Arthur tilted his head. "That night . . . when we fought off those gargoyles, you woke up that morning with no memory?"

Ana nodded.

"Why would you risk your life to help me? You didn't even know me. And don't spew that whole speech about the sole heir or whatever it was you said when I asked the first time. If you woke up _that morning_ with no memory, then I would bet my sword that even if you knew I was Uther's son, there is no way you would've known I'm the Crown Prince, or that I'm his only son. So I'm going to ask you again, why would you risk your life for a man you haven't even met yet?"

Ana shrugged. "It felt like that was the right thing to do. If I'm honest, I wasn't thinking when I stole Leon's sword and slipped out. Besides, it's not as if you want to remember being saved by a _girl_."

Merlin was surprised when Arthur did not take up on the joke Ana made. The prince only stared at the blonde maid poking at the fire with her stick. They watched in silence as the stick caught fire and Ana sputtered out soft curses as she beat the ground with it to put the fire out, then caress her hand, wrapping it in her cloak.

"Where did you get that cloak?"

Ana shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was a gift, I don't know, I can't remember getting it."

Arthur glanced at his own cloak. "Are you sure you didn't steal it?"

Ana shrugged again. "Maybe I did. You should get some rest," she added, shaking her hand out and blowing on it.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, an old knife wound. And the flames of my stupidity." She smiled brightly. "I'm perfectly all right. You should both get some rest."

Arthur shook his head. "Try not to let us get killed," Arthur muttered, bundling up his own cloak to use as a pillow. Just before he drifted off, he could've sworn he saw a warm glow settle on Ana's palm.

He forgot about it when he woke up.

* * *

The three of them stared at the waterfall.

"It seems your horse has brought us to a dead-end," Merlin said.

"Now where's he going?" Arthur asked when his horse continued on.

"I think you're going to get wet," Ana called out.

"You don't say," the prince muttered dryly.

"Arthur?" Merlin called out. When no response came, he glanced at Ana, who shrugged.

The two of them nudged their horses to follow Arthur into the lake, finally emerging from a tunnel behind the waterfall to find Arthur staring up at what looked like an enchanted castle.

"Where are we?" Merlin whispered.

"I don't know," Arthur replied.

"Why are we whispering?" Ana asked.

"If we weren't sure Morgause was a sorcerer before, we can be certain of it now."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "That must've been how she defeated me. She was using magic."

"It didn't look like she was," Ana said.

"And what would you know about magic, Ana?"

Merlin's eyes nearly fell out of his head when Ana didn't immediately stomp out any growing suspicion. Instead, she smiled coyly. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said as she dismounted and walked on.

"She's mad," Merlin said sincerely when Arthur glanced at him. The two of them dismounted as well and followed Ana.

The chamber was empty, save a block of wood and an axe.

"Now what?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe we should ask the horse," Merlin suggested sarcastically.

"You kept your promise," Morgause said as she entered from behind a pillar. She no longer wore her black armour. Instead, she had donned a bright red dress that Ana felt had the potential to be blinding.

Despite the very real problem that no one was sure what Morgause wanted with Arthur, Ana found herself very distracted with the absolute need to own and parade around the castle in that beautiful dress.

"What is the nature of the challenge you wish to set me?" Arthur said.

"Place your head on the block," Morgause responded, picking up the axe. She looked at Arthur. "You gave me your word that you would do anything I asked."

"Arthur, don't," Merlin said. Ana put her hand out in front of Merlin when he stepped forward. She was staring at Morgause curiously.

Slowly, Arthur kneeled and set his head on the block.

"What are you doing?" Merlin shouted. "I won't let you do this!"

Ana gripped the sleeve of Merlin's jacket tightly.

"Stay out of this, Merlin!" Arthur shouted.

"Merlin," Ana warned softly. She shook her head at him.

Morgause lifted the axe, then set it down on the ground. "You have shown that you are truly a man of your word, Arthur Pendragon, and for that, I will grant you one wish. Tell me what it is that your heart most desires."

_That's_ _a sick way to test loyalty_

Ana smiled at Merlin, amused at his ongoing inner monologuing, which was now listing other safer ways Morgause could've checked to see if Arthur would keep his word.

"You said you knew my mother," Arthur said, "tell me all that you know about her."

"Perhaps you would like to see her," Morgause offered.

"I want that more than anything."

"As you wish."

While Merlin and Arthur discussed the possibility that Morgause might or might not be evil, Ana approached the sorceress.

Morgause blew out the flame on the splint. "Yes?"

"Curiosity," Ana said, looking over at the candles.

"You remind me of someone."

"Your reflection?" Ana asked. She reached out for a candle right on the end of the shelf. "Can I . . .?"

Morgause nodded as she set a few of them on the table with an amused smile. "No, not my reflection."

"Then who?" Ana asked, turning the candle around.

"That's not magic, that one just smells nice."

"Oh."

"A distant relative, I think."

"What was her name?" Ana asked, putting the candle back.

Morgause shrugged as she relit a splint to light some other candles. "I don't remember. It was many years ago. I know whoever picked her up gave her the name Salvador, but as for _her_ name . . ." Morgause shrugged.

Ana dropped the topic. "Will this really bring Arthur's mother back?"

"For a short time, yes. If I knew yours, I could bring her back too."

Ana frowned, wondering if the mother that Morgause would bring back would be just an illusion that would say what Morgause wanted it to say. 

"You really knew Arthur's mother? Can you really bring her back to speak with Arthur?"

Morgause nodded. "It's a complex spell, but it will do the job. Why are you so curious?"

Ana shrugged. "If I were given such an opportunity, I'd want to meet my parents too."

Morgause studied Ana for a moment before blowing out a few candles and bringing others down. "It's up to you. If you can focus hard enough, you'll be able to see and speak with a parent -- if they have passed."

Ana shrugged. "Did you just change your spell?"

"Yes. Any relative of yours that has passed will appear to you if you so wish, but only to you."

Ana shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

"It is time," Morgause said loudly as she turned around. "Close your eyes."

She glanced at Ana. "Do you still wish to . . ."

Her curiosity winning over, Ana nodded and closed her eyes. Merlin stared at the two blondes in bewilderment. Why wasn't _he_ offered an opportunity to meet his dead relatives?

Morgause began her spell. " _Arásae mid min miclan mihte þín suna to helpe. Hider eft funde on þisse ne middangeard þín suna w'æs_."

Ana was focused on the sounds of a conversation between Arthur and his apparent mother, but they seemed distant. A new voice spoke clearly to her.

"Open your eyes."

Ana did and she nearly screamed. She seemed to be looking at a copy of herself, although the woman in front of her wore a beautiful cream gown. Her hair was tucked into a neat bun, stray curls framed her face, all held in position by the thin gold band around her forehead.

"You've grown well."

Ana peered at the woman. "You look just like me."

"No, _you_ look just like _me_. I was born first."

Ana scoffed. "What, you want me to believe you're what? My long-lost twin _sister_?"

"I'm your _mother_."

Ana's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Oh."

The woman walked towards Ana and put her hand on Ana's cheek. "I am so proud of you, my daughter, of the woman you've become. My only regret is that you had to become so great without me."

"Why? What happened? Why don't I remember you? Or my father, or anything?" Another thought struck Ana. "Why does Guinevere know more about me that I do?"

"I can't say, my love. You will uncover the truth in due course. But none of that now, there isn't much time. Whatever Arthur hears is the truth, but he will act rashly. You must protect him from his own decisions. You and Merlin, he will help you. Your destiny is so closely entwined with his, my child. You are a protector, a guardian, a saviour, you must look after him. He'll soon be all the family you have left."

The image of the woman wavered slightly.

"I will always love you, Ath--"

"Wait!"

Merlin was watching both Arthur and Ana. While he could see Arthur's mother and hear what both Arthur and his mother had to say, he could not see who Ana spoke to, nor hear what either Ana or her conversation partner spoke about. When asked, Morgause simply said that Ana requested to know who her parents were. To Merlin, it simply looked like Ana was in a dream-like trance, not speaking or moving. At least, until Arthur's mother vanished.

"Bring her back!" both Ana and Arthur shouted, staring at Morgause.

"I cannot," the sorceress confessed, "once the doorway is closed, it is closed forever."

Morgause faced Ana first. "I do not know what you have seen or heard, but I am sorry I could not give you more time."

Then she turned to Arthur. "I am truly sorry that your learnt of your mother's fate in this way. I can only imagine how it must feel to discover your father is responsible for her death. It is an unforgivable betrayal."

"What happened?" Ana asked, not noticing Morgause leaving. "What did your mother say to you?"

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked. "Arthur?"

Arthur answered neither servant. "Fetch the horses. We're returning to Camelot."

As they sped through the forest, Merlin did his best to explain. According to Arthur's mother, the prince was born of a deal struck between Uther and a sorceress called Nimueh. It was a life for a life, and Arthur's mother was taken in exchange for him. Uther was desperate for an heir and his wife could not conceive, so he approached Nimueh.

The name sounded awfully familiar to Ana, but she could not place it. It didn't stay on her mind for long, because they soon entered the main square of Camelot. Arthur dismounted rather rapidly and grabbed his sword from the sheath tied to his horse before walking up the steps and into the castle.

Gaius was pleased to find Ana and Merlin alive and well, but Merlin was having none of it.

"Arthur was born of magic. Wasn't he? Uther used magic."

"Merlin . . ."

"All those people he's executed . . . he's as guilty as they are. He sacrificed Arthur's mother! He as good as murdered her! People should know the truth about what he's done. How could you not tell me?"

Gaius looked more guilty than Ana had ever seen him in all the time she'd known him. "I feared what Arthur would do if he ever found out."

"Oh, he's found out now," Merlin muttered as he raced after Arthur. Ana followed without a second thought.

"You know," Merlin said as they ran, "Arthur's mother looked identical to you."

"Is this really the time, Merlin?" Ana asked.

"Just mentioning it before I forget."

Ana smiled at Merlin's ridiculous excuse, but then she halted abruptly.

"Ana? What's wrong?" Merlin held out his hands and Ana latched onto him, starting herself. She was no longer seeing the warlock in front of her, Merlin could tell. Her eyes were open, but she was not seeing.

"Arthur just challenged Uther," she said softly. "I saw him throw his gauntlet down."

"Snap out of it, we need to get in that chamber _now_."

Ana shook her head and grabbed Merlin's hand, nearly pulling him up the stairs behind her.

"The King has forbidden anyone to enter!" the knight said when the two of them tried to get in.

"Let me in, Leon!" Ana cried.

"They're going to kill each other!" Merlin shouted, a much more logical response.

Ana and Merlin pushed open the doors to find Uther's sword on the floor and Arthur about to strike.

"Arthur, don't!" Merlin shouted as he and Ana rushed towards the pair, "I know you don't want to do this!"

"My mother is dead because of him!" Arthur said, not taking his eyes off his father.

"Killing your father won't bring her back," Ana said as she stood in front of Arthur. "You've already lost one parent. Do you really want to lose another?"

Uther piped up. "Listen to him, Arth--"

While it was expected of Ana to _disregard_ authority, she had never outright been _rude_ to the king before. "Be quiet," she snapped.

The outburst surprised Uther into shutting up. Never before had he been addressed in such a manner.

"Arthur, please," Ana said gently, "put the sword down."

Unaware that Ana had been in her own vision at the time, Arthur glared at her. "You _heard_ what my mother said! After everything he has done, do you believe he deserves to live?!" Arthur glanced over Ana's head at Uther and gestured to his father with his sword. "He executes those who use magic, and yet he has used it _himself_!" Arthur tried to push past Ana. He glared at his father. "You have caused so much suffering and pain! I will put an end to that!"

Gaius entered at that moment, and Merlin held out his hand to signal to Gaius to stay back.

"Morgause is lying!" Merlin said, although it hurt him to strengthen Arthur's belief that magic was evil. "She's an enchantress. She tricked you. That was not your mother you saw. That was an illusion. Everything . . . everything your mother said to you . . . those were Morgause's words."

"You don't know that!" Arthur shouted, turning to glare at the dark-haired servant.

Merlin looked at Ana for help, knowing that Arthur seemed to listen more to her. Ana knew that what she and Merlin said to stop Arthur would only drive him further against magic, but it had to be done. Arthur would never forgive himself if he was left to go through with killing his father.

"But I do," Ana said softly, reaching up and placing her hand on Arthur's cheek, turning his head and forcing him to look at her. Gently, she brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Do you truly believe that your father would kill his own wife? With magic, the very thing he hates most? Don't you see, this has been Morgause's plan all along."

Arthur jerked his head out of Ana's gentle caress. "How could you possibly know that? You don't have any idea what it's like to lose a mother to magic and --"

"Arthur," she said sharply. "Look me in the eye and tell me you believe what you're saying."

Ana waited a few seconds before continuing. "If you kill your father, the kingdom will be destroyed. This is what she wants."

Uther once again spoke up. "Listen to them, they're speaking the tru--"

"I said be quiet!" Ana nearly roared, not looking away from Arthur. When she continued, her voice was not nearly as harsh or loud. "Do you see? Morgause _wants_ you to do this. Are you really going to give in to her over an _illusion_?"

The words twisted Ana's gut because she wondered if she was right. If she was, would that make the vision of her own mother false?

Arthur stared at Ana for a few seconds before looking past her and raising his sword at Uther. "Swear to me it isn't true! You are not responsible for my mother's death! Give me your word!"

Ana gently pushed Arthur back, just keeping him at bay, lest he tried to swipe with that sword. She turned halfway to look at Uther for the first time since she stepped between father and son.

"I swear on my life, I loved your mother. There isn't a day passes that I don't wish that she were still alive. I could never have done anything to hurt her."

 _That_ _wasn't_ _what Arthur asked you to swear_ , Ana thought.

 _As long as you_ _don't_ _say that_ _out_ _loud_ . . .

Ana turned to Merlin, who stared her solemnly, both of them knowing that Arthur had truly seen and spoken to his mother.

Arthur suddenly dropped his sword, the sudden clatter of metal deafening in the previous silence. Arthur fell to his knee and slumped against his father's chair.

When Uther moved towards him, Ana turned and left the council chambers.

* * *

"I have already thanked Merlin, but I suppose I am indebted to you for stopping me."

Ana turned from the window overlooking the training grounds. She had been reliving the memory of fighting Arthur with her stolen dagger.

"You owe me nothing."

"It is clear to me the evils of magic, and that is thanks to both you and Merlin."

Ana scoffed. "I wish you would see the good of magic."

"What good is there?"

Ana shrugged, turning her head to look out the window. _One day, Merlin_ _will_ _show you_.

"I am sorry about what I said in the council chamber, Ana."

"You were right. I don't know what it's like to lose a mother to magic, considering the fact that I never had one. I will never know what it's like, considering I don't even remember my mother. So you were right, I don't know what that's like, but I do know what it feels like to be all alone, to think you have no one in the world, and never in my life would I wish for you to know what that's like."

"Ana . . ." Arthur shook his head and took a deep breath, choosing to change his tracks. "My father owes you his life."

"I wish he didn't," Ana said softly and scornfully, staring at the moonlight bouncing off a sword forgotten on the grass.

Unsure of how to respond, Arthur simply cleared his throat. "Er . . ."

He was grateful to see his father approach and silently request to speak with Ana, giving him a reason to leave.

"You seem rather close with my son."

Ana did not face the king. She merely hummed in agreement, still leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"Under normal circumstances, I would not tolerate such behaviour from --"

"You _owe_ me your life," Ana said sharply, snapping her gaze to Uther. "You standing here and talking to me in that patronizing and condescending tone is _thanks_ to me."

"I am aware," Uther said patiently. "It is for that reason that I will pardon you stepping out of line, especially in your abrasive manner of addressing myself--"

"I don't think you understand, Uther," Ana said, turning to face the king. She clenched her fists around the sleeves of her dress, narrowly missing her arms, where bruises would form. Her frown told Uther her voice was unnaturally calm for someone filled with so much rage, fury, and . . . was that hatred? "I really don't think you understand. I _know_ what you did."

"I have done nothing wr--"

"You may not have directly traded your wife's life for Arthur, but you made a deal with a sorceress to have Arthur. Perhaps Morgause truly meant to drive you and Arthur apart, but she did it with the truth. I don't think you see how this is going to blow up in your face in the future."

"How dare you --"

"How dare I? How dare _you_? Slaughter those who practice magic whenever you can when your _own_ _son_ was born of it. And you refuse to acknowledge your error. You blame the laws of nature and then try to rid the world of an entire species. You and your mistakes, Uther Pendragon, will be your own demise."

She turned back to the window. "I know what you went and told Merlin. How he's a great ally in the fight against magic. All about how magic will corrupt Arthur. I'm even certain you mentioned something about people who wield magic targeting Arthur or something. I can assure you I am not Merlin. I saved you from your son because I did not want him to bear the burden of killing his own father. If it were anyone else, I would have done _nothing_."

Uther frowned. "Who _are_ you?"

Ana turned back slowly. "What sort of stupid question is that? Everyone in this castle knows that I know as much about myself as everyone else."

"You are a sorceress. You must be."

"Oh, yes," Ana said, nodding mockingly. "I'm a sorceress and my plan is to take over the kingdom. That's why everything I have done as far back as I can remember has been to help Arthur. That's why I stopped him from committing an act that would put the kingdom in an uproar. That's why I am patiently suffering through our lovely little conversation. Yes, I must be a sorceress. Honestly, do you ever think before you speak? Have you no idea what a fool you make of yourself?"

"I could have you hanged," Uther threatened.

"Why don't you just burn me at the stake?" Ana suggested, rolling her eyes. "I'm the big bad witch, remember?"

"You have _no_ _right_ to speak to me that way!" Uther thundered.

"And yet," Ana said with faux amazement, "I have not stopped."

Uther stopped and took a deep breath. "The only reason I sought you out was to thank you for your efforts in the fight against magic, and for your actions yesterday."

"Hmm, no you didn't. You sought me out to find out why your son listened to me when I told him to put his sword down. You sought me out to find out why I head the nerve to tell you to be quiet. I'm terribly sorry to inform you that you won't be getting any answers from me." With that Ana pushed away from the wall and left.

"You have not been dismissed!"

Ana merely raised the middle finger of her right hand as she turned the corner.

"Really grates on your nerves, doesn't she?"

Uther turned to find Arthur leaning against the wall.

"You tolerate such behaviour from a common maid?"

"I owe her my life, even if she won't allow me to say that."

"You owe her _nothing_."

"It's funny how that sounds so much better when she says it. Probably because it has a different connotation coming from her."

"Which knight did she steal that cloak from?"

Arthur shook his head. "It belongs to her. She's always had it."

"That is material from Camelot. All the knights' cloaks are made from the same material. Yours is, too."

"Perhaps she had it made from the same tailor. I would not worry about her, Father. She means well."

Uther's mind was taken off the cloak. "She is rude, unashamedly so. Not only does she act and speak out of turn, but she also slanders and speaks to us in a manner that is unacceptable. She even speaks controversially. For all we know, she could mean treason. She deserves to be jailed."

Arthur shrugged. "If you want to jail her, you'll have to have a concrete reason to do so. Simply claiming that she said all that she just said is not enough."

"You heard everything. You would be a witness."

Arthur shook his head. "This makes seven times where Ana had been right and has proved her loyalty to me. I think it is important to look at the actions and not the words of a person like Ana. I would not be standing here today without her and Merlin. If you can make Merlin my servant for saving my life, then you can pardon Ana's behaviour."

Around the corner, Ana took off, unable to listen further.

She had spoken to Merlin about what Arthur had seen, what his mother had said to him. When he asked her what she saw, Ana said she simply saw a mirage of images of a woman and a baby.

She could not and would not tell Merlin that when he described the way Ygraine Pendragon had looked, he had described Ana's mother.

In fact, Ana wanted to bury the thought in her mind and to never think of it again.


	9. The Lady of the Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ana feels Merlin's love -- and his grief -- and finally understands what it means to have a bond of the soul

Ana had tried and tried to put it out of her mind, but she found that she was spending her nights thinking instead of sleeping. She hadn't wanted to bother Gwen, but one couldn't exactly discuss magic out in the open, and Ana did not want to speak to Merlin about her troubles this time.

After nightfall, Ana knocked on Gwen's door. It took a moment before the maid opened.

"Ana? What are you doing here so late? Is everything all right?"

Ana smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course." Gwen moved to the side to allow Ana to enter, then she closed the door and locked it again. "Something bothering you?"

"Gwen, you know quite a bit about me . . . more so than anyone else."

Gwen sighed. "We've been through this, Ana. I can't tell you all you wish to know."

Ana nodded. "Perhaps I could ask my questions, and you answer if you can?"

"Ana . . . all right. Sit down."

Ana sat at the wooden table, and Gwen sat around the corner. "You must understand that there will be some questions I cannot answer, no matter how much I would like to."

"I understand. If I ask a question you can't answer, just tell me so."

Gwen wasn't really sure it was a good idea, but she agreed nonetheless.

"Do you know who my parents are?"

Gwen bit her lower lip. "You never spoke much of them. You weren't very forthcoming with your past, and at that stage, you and I weren't exactly friends. I didn't feel it was my place to ask."

"Are you sure I never said anything you can tell me? Any names, memories? Anything?"

Gwen's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall. "You mentioned once that you looked strikingly similar to your mother. When I passed by you and someone talking, I happened to hear you say that if you were to ever have a daughter, you would name her after your mother. You never said her name, though."

Ana nodded, accepting the information. "Did I ever mention how she looked? Aside from being similar to myself?"

Gwen shook her head. "No. You spoke even less of your father. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you didn't even have one. You mentioned once being their firstborn, but you never actually confirmed whether or not you had any siblings."

Ana nodded again, staring at the table. "Do you know where my cloak came from?"

Gwen smiled. "Yes, and that's a question I can answer. It's rather odd, really. Your cloak is made of the same material from which --"

"The knights' cloaks?"

Gwen shook her head. "Not exactly. The material is nearly the same, but I was helping one of the older maids, Emily, clean out an old storage room and I came across something made of the exact same material."

"So my cloak is different to the knights' cloaks?"

"There's the obvious difference of yours being infused with magic. I would assume your cloak is from Camelot, though, seeing as the material _is_ very rare."

"What was this other item made from the same material?"

"Well, that's the part I find odd. It was a blanket, rather thin for a blanket. The edges were trimmed with the same gold thread that stitches the button on your cloak. When I asked Emily why such a beautiful blanket was kept away in a box, she said the king does not wish to ever see it again."

Ana frowned and leaned on the table. "Why? What was it?"

"Erm . . . it was Arthur's baby blanket. According to Emily, it was the first thing he was wrapped in after he was born."

"Why wouldn't Uther want to see it?"

"Perhaps it reminds him of Ygraine. Emily said it was cut and trimmed by Ygraine herself. Apparently she had two blankets made, in case something happened to the one, but one of them went missing."

Ana pinched the material of her cloak. "Could this be made from the missing blanket?"

"It's . . . possible, but highly unlikely. It was a baby blanket, remember. Rather small, compared to the amount of material needed for a cloak with a hood. Besides, you mentioned once that you got the cloak from your father -- one of his very few mentions ever."

Ana nodded, wondering what she wanted to ask next. Then something struck her. She had no idea why she never asked before, and she was completely stunned by the fact that she did not know. "Gwen, how old am I?"

"Around twenty-one, twenty-two, somewhere there. I'm sorry, I don't actually know when your birthday is."

"That's all right, I'll just pick a date and declare it as my birthday. No one will even know whether I'm right or wrong."

Gwen smiled. "Is there anything else?"

"What's my name?" Ana asked, remembering that right before her mother disappeared, she had nearly called Ana by a different name.

"Your _name_? It's Ana . . . I didn't think your memory was _that_ bad."

"No, my _real_ name. My full name."

"Oh . . . I . . . I can't say."

"Oh. What about where I'm from?"

"You never directly said. Of course, I do know, but that's another thing I can't say because you never really shared that information."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that . . . okay, look, you're enchanted, spellbound, even cursed if you look at it from a certain angle. I wasn't supposed to say anything to you, I wasn't even supposed to tell you that you can wield magic. I was only meant to pass on your cloak to you, making sure you knew to guard it with your life. Trust me, Ana, there is a lot that I want you to know, but I can't say it. It's part of your . . . spell."

"When you say my spell, do you mean . . .?"

"You cast it yourself, yes. What I can share with you are things you have previously shared."

"So . . . if I had introduced myself to you by my full name --"

"Except that one. Your name is a key to a lock that hasn't presented itself yet."

Ana pouted. "Isn't me asking a presentation of a lock?"

"No."

"Maybe I could hold on to the key for safekeeping?"

"That key is the only thing keeping you safe from a race of superior beings whose laws you just managed to break every single one of. I think it's safer with me."

Ana sighed. "Fine. So, if I had said my mother's name to you before, would you have been able to tell it to me now?"

Gwen nodded hesitantly.

"And what about where I'm from?"

"I suppose I could, but I don't think I would've. It would've only created more questions that I would not have been able to answer."

Ana pursed her lips. "Well, I hope that when I do find everything out, I will be able to see exactly why all of it was kept from me."

"You will. I _can_ tell you that wherever it is you're from, it's nowhere _near_ Camelot. Sometimes you even say things that don't make sense. Words that probably aren't part of our language yet."

"Believe me, I know," Ana said, thinking about her creative curses.

"You should go back, you know. Before someone wakes up and finds you missing."

Ana shook her head. "No one will even know."

"Ana," Gwen said, not unlike a scolding mother, "what have we said about casting magic without good reason? OH! Since when does Merlin know about your magic? I haven't had the chance to speak to you about that."

"Erm . . . you're right, I should go."

"Ana. . ."

"It was an accident. He . . . he saw me cast a spell on Myror."

"I _thought_ you had something to do with that." Gwen sighed. "Please be careful, Ana. I know you trust Merlin, and I do too, seeing as he hasn't told on you, but the world isn't made up of people like you, Merlin, and I. People don't like magic. You do remember the witchfinder, yes?"

Ana nodded. "I'll be careful, Gwen. I'm sorry for waking you in the middle of the night."

"It's fine," Gwen said as she walked Ana to the door. "I can't imagine what it's like to know that I have the answers you seek, yet you can't have them. I admire your acceptance of the situation."

Ana smiled. "I can't see anything I can do about it, so . . . just accept it, I guess."

"Sleep well, Ana."

"You too."

Halfway to the castle, Ana and Merlin crashed into each other.

"What are you doing out here?" They asked each other, proceeding to answer at the same time too. "Sneaking out!"

"I went to speak to Gwen."

"Oh. I decided to rescue a Druid girl."

There was a brief pause after they both nodded and accepted the answers before the words seemed to settle. They had begun walking back to Gaius's chambers by now.

"Why did you have to go speak to her so late at night?" Merlin asked.

"What were _you_ thinking? Either this girl could expose you to other Druids which would bring Uther's attention to your magic, or someone else could've seen you with her and could report you to Uther."

"I couldn't just leave her there! She was caught by a bounty hunter! He was going to sell her to Uther!"

Ana sighed. She did not respond to Merlin's reasoning. "It had to do with magic. I couldn't exactly speak about it during the day."

"Which reminds me, since when does Gwen know about your magic?"

Ana bit her lip. "It was an accident. She saw me when we cast that spell on Myror's horse. She doesn't know about you, don't worry."

"This is bad, Ana. Very --"

"She hasn't told on me, has she? And she's known for a while now. Besides, she tries to do her best to protect me, but what can she do without drawing attention? She keeps dropping warnings like Gaius occasionally does. In fact, I'm glad she knows. It makes it easier when I use magic to do the laundry and the dishes."

"You use magic in the kitchens? Ana!"

"That was a joke. Look, it went over much better than when Arthur --"

Merlin stopped walking. "When Arthur what?"

"Nothing."

"Ana. What happened with Arthur?"

Ana shook her head and continued walking. "It's nothing, Merlin. Be quiet, you don't want to wake Gaius."

Merlin grabbed Ana's arm, yanking her away from the doors to Gaius's chambers. He pulled her around the corner and into the large linen closet. "Explain yourself. Now."

"Do you remember when Gwen was captured by Hengist?"

Merlin nodded.

"And how I told you I'd had a vision and I stumbled upon Arthur?"

Merlin nodded again, a little slower than before.

"And the whole debacle with Catrina the troll?"

"Yes," Merlin said slowly.

"Also, remember how you and I are bound by some kind of magic? Well, I appear to have a similar binding to Arthur. You know I hated Catrina, so I often made things better by imagining myself in these scenarios where I was killing her, mutilating her, running her through. All sorts of things. It was like therapy."

Merlin shuddered.

"Well, turns out that whatever I was imagining, Arthur was seeing. Now, he has his clever moments, so it wasn't long before he put two and two together."

"Arthur knows?" Merlin hissed.

"Arthur _knew_ ," Ana corrected. "I put him under with a spell and I removed the memory of the small confrontation."

"You can do that?"

Ana shrugged. "Appears so."

"What's Hengist got to do with this?"

"Arthur remembered how I knew Gwen and Morgana had been attacked, and that I made it to the Veil of Danaria before you two."

"Tell me you removed the memory of watching your visions?"

Ana shook her head. "I couldn't. I didn't know whether he would end up like me or something."

Merlin didn't know what to say about that, so he asked a different question. "Hey, remember when you accidentally sliced my arm open?"

Ana frowned. "Yes, it was quite painful."

"Yeah, you ended up with a slice too. When we went after Gwen, you ended up with a wound that stained the entire top of your dress."

"Ah," Ana said with a nod. "It appears to be a one-way connection, but also not."

Ana lifted Merlin's left arm and pushed his sleeve up. "See, you've got no mark.

Ana then raised her own arm. "But I've got one. Even though the wound was on _your_ arm. You wouldn't have the remnants of my wound on you, but I keep remnants of yours. Arthur's too," Ana added.

"Really?"

Ana nodded. She untied her cloak from around her shoulders and draped it over Merlin's arm. Then she turned around and pulled her sleeve down, exposing her shoulder.

"Oh, wow, that's a nasty mark."

"I know."

"It looks painful."

"It isn't anymore."

"At least it doesn't look as bad as when you first showed it to me."

Merlin reached out to gently prod at the patch of lighter skin in curiosity, and that's when the closet door opened.

"Well, I think we all need to sit down and have a nice, long conversation."

"Oh, shit," Ana muttered.

* * *

Merlin had never been gladder to hear that Arthur was looking for him.

Ana, on the other hand, had never been more furious. Silently, she cursed the prince multiple times over.

"Anytime you'd like to start speaking, Ana."

"I have nothing to say."

"Well, I'm going to have to just assume --"

"GAIUS!"

The old man chuckled when Ana flushed bright red.

"NOTHING WAS GOING ON!"

"If nothing was going on, why was it in the linen cupboard?"

Ana groaned and dropped her head onto the wooden table, debating thumping it with her head a few times. "We were talking about magic," she grumbled.

Gaius, who had resumed his mixing of his medicines, shrugged. "It didn't look like much _talking_ was going on."

"Gaius!" Ana wailed as she lifted her head. "We _were_ talking!"

"All right."

"If you're going to continue with your ridiculous assumptions, could you please do it a little quieter?"

Gaius paused and frowned at Ana. "I didn't say anything."

"No, but you were thinking it."

"How do you know that?"

"I can read minds," Ana stage-whispered, an annoyed expression on her face. "But you're just thinking too loud now."

Gaius shook off the discovery of Ana's new skill. "What was so secretive that it needed to be discussed in the _privacy_ of a linen cupboard instead of this great big space where it's also safe?"

Ana sighed. "I haven't really said anything, because saying it might make it certain that it's true, but I think . . . I think there is a . . . a bond of some kind."

"Between you and Merlin?"

"Well, yes, but also between Arthur and me."

"That's impossible," Gaius said, abandoning his mixtures. "Such bonds can only be formed between you and one other person, if we are thinking of the same kind."

"Oh, we are. But it's happened. I don't know how. Look," she added, getting up and going to fetch a book. "I was going through a couple of books and I found this one. _Soul binding occurs between two people who are_ _destined_ _to be in each_ _other's_ _lives for eternity_. Everything listed under it is what I can do."

"Let me see," Gaius said, extending his hand for the book, which Ana handed over.

"Hearing one another's thoughts?"

"I hear Merlin and Arthur's nearly all the time. Often enough, Merlin can hear mine. Arthur once saw what I was imagining."

Gaius raised his eyebrows.

"I hit him really hard on the head to induce memory loss," Ana lied.

"What about . . . what is this? Seeing the world through the eyes --"

"I've done that with both of them."

"Really?"

Ana nodded. "And it only works with the two of them. I've managed to get into Gwen's head, Uther's, Morgause's, yours, a couple of the other maids and a stable boy. But that's about it. I can't see what you all see, can barely ever hear what you hear."

"Barely?"

"Works with Gwen. Funny, I can't seem to get into Morgana's head. But then again, I haven't really tried very hard."

"All right. What else?" Gaius read through the page. " _A connection of mind, body and soul_. Now what does --?"

"I've decided that mind would have to refer to the whole thoughts and seeing through their eyes thing. Body is most definitely the part where I feel what they feel, although that's somewhat one-sided."

"Meaning?"

"That's what I was showing Merlin." Ana flipped her braid over her shoulder and showed Gaius the wound. "See? That's when Myror stabbed Arthur."

"And how do you know this connection stands with Merlin?"

Ana smiled sheepishly. "Do you remember when we were reading up on troll magic and you caught Merlin and I --"

"With the bandages and . . ."

"We did it for science!" Ana cried defensively when Gaius frowned at her. "And I didn't mean to slice his arm open, I only meant to make a small prick."

"You sliced his arm open?"

Ana showed Gaius her own arm. "Merlin's got no mark, by the way. When I snuck out to help save Gwen, I ended up with a nasty wound on my side. That affected neither Arthur nor Merlin, so that's why I say it's one-sided."

Gaius sighed, not really prepared to ask Ana many questions. "And the connection of the soul?"

"Emotions?" Ana asked. "I don't really know, but I tend to feel a little of what they're feeling. Like when we went after Gwen and Arthur was worried sick. Or when Merlin was so upset about Morgana. I don't know if that's it."

Gaius nodded slowly. "Well, it appears you are right."

"But why?" Ana whined. "Do you have any idea how traumatizing it is to know what Arthur is thinking at random moments?"

"No, but I assume the bond is helpful sometimes."

Ana glared briefly at Gaius. "Okay, bring up the good points while I'm discussing the bad ones, why don't you," she grumbled sarcastically.

"I'm just saying," Gaius defended with a shrug. "Have you any idea how it happened?"

Ana shook her head. "I noticed it for the first time when Myror showed his ugly face, then the whole thoughts thing when Merlin went after Morgana. I just found this book when I discovered I could hear Gwen too, that's how I knew she was in trouble. After that, I just kept getting better and better at doing these things." The blonde maid shrugged. "I really don't know what it is."

"I do wonder where you're from, Ana," Gaius mumbled.

"I know the books say only a High Priestess can create such bonds, but we -- or I -- haven't exactly been exposed to one."

"Actually, you have. The sorceress Nimueh, she was the reason the chalice you drank from was poisoned."

"Do you think something happened then?"

Gaius shrugged. "Perhaps. Unfortunately, none of us remember how it all happened."

Ana nodded in agreement, but she was wondering if Gwen would mind another midnight visit.

* * *

Ana was in the council chambers when a bounty hunter entered with a few of Camelot's knights.

Uther seemed happy to see him. "Ah, Halig. You've come bearing gifts?"

"Yes, Sire. A druid girl. But she escaped last night here in Camelot."

Merlin stiffened.

"Well, don't worry. We'll soon find her." Uther beckoned to a knight. "Have some guards help with the search."

The knight bowed and left. Ana expected everyone to be dismissed, but it seemed Halig had more to say.

"You need to warn them, Sire. The girl is dangerous. The informer told me she was cursed."

"How so?" Uther asked.

"He didn't know, but he said even the druids were frightened of her. They cast her out of their camp."

Uther glanced at the physician beside him. "It's against all the druids believe to reject those in need of care," Gaius said.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Uther questioned.

"I dread to think," Gaius muttered.

"Set up sentries on all the gates," Uther told another knight.

"We should search the lower town, sire," Halig said. "Someone may be harbouring her."

"You think she had help?" Gaius asked.

"I saw two figures running away."

Ana glared at Merlin.

"Give Halig all the help he needs," Uther said. "I want this girl and her accomplice found."

* * *

Ana stood behind Merlin as the line shuffled forward, Halig examining each person and denying that they were the druid girl and her accomplice.

Halig nodded at the woman in front of Merlin and they watched as she was taken by the guards. Ana tensed when, after shaking his head at Merlin, Halig continued to watch him.

"You look guilty," Halig mused, looking at Ana. Then he shook his head to the guard, who nodded for Ana to move along.

"I'm going to kill that boy," Ana hissed as she stalked off towards the castle.

She entered a sort of run-down corridor -- clearly it wasn't used often -- and checked to see if anyone was around before sitting with her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall too.

"Let's see where you're hiding this girl," she mumbled.

It took no more than a second for the bond to do its work. She opened her eyes to a rocky cave lit by the warm glow of candles. A girl stared at her -- at Merlin! -- with wide eyes. Ana noticed instantly how her dark red dress was torn in more than one place, and how she looked like she had been sleeping in the dirt for weeks on end.

"You could never understand," the girl whispered, looking away.

"I know what it's like to keep secrets."

Ana's heart felt heavy, but she wasn't sure if that was her or Merlin.

"Does anyone know you have magic?"

"Only you. And two other people. They know, but I'm not sure they understand."

"Oh, Merlin," Ana whispered.

"I wish I was like everyone else, but . . ."

She didn't need to see Merlin to know he had that understanding look on his face. She could hear it in his voice.

"You always know, deep down, you're not?"

"Because I'm cursed," the girl said.

"Freya, don't say that." By the quick shake of everything, Ana assumed Merlin must've shaken his head at the girl. "Magic doesn't have to be a curse. It can be a gift. Look. _Hoppaþ nu swicae swá lig flíehen_."

Briefly, a flash of gold obscured Ana's vision. She wondered if that happened to Merlin as well, or if that was just because she was prying.

The flames of the candles began to float. Ana wondered when he had learnt that spell and why she hadn't learnt it too.

"Beautiful," the girl whispered.

Merlin seemed to be staring at her, but Ana didn't mind. It gave her the opportunity to study the girl. She was rather small, nearly the size of Ana herself, but she looked frail and weak. Her dark hair was knotted and untidy, but it was pushed out of her face. Her dark eyes were wide with fear, but something else too.

"I have to go," Merlin said suddenly, turning away and allowing Ana to roughly see the size of the cave. He glanced back at Freya. "Erm, someone might notice I'm missing. But I -- I'll come back, and I'll bring you some more food. I promise."

Ana closed her eyes and smiled. The girl was rather pretty, but even from not actually meeting her, Ana could tell she was a kind soul.

* * *

Ana had just finished speaking to Gaius about the reasons why the Druids would shun someone, and they both came up blank. Gaius happened to mention that he suspected Merlin had something to do with the girl's disappearance, so when Merlin entered the physician's chambers, Ana quickly left.

It wasn't hard to pick up Merlin's trail. In fact, it was much easier than the last time she had done it. Soon enough, Ana found the cave.

"Hello."

The girl didn't respond. Rather, she shrunk back into the corner and watched Ana with wide and fearful eyes, her knees up to her chin to protect herself.

"It's all right," Ana said softly as she inched closer. "My name's Ana."

"Freya," the girl whispered. "Why are you here?"

"I'm a friend of Merlin's. I brought you something," Ana added, reaching into the basket she had been carrying. "I hope you like chicken."

Freya stared at the container of food Ana held out.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Gingerly, Freya nodded.

"Take it."

When Freya didn't move, Ana set the container down and then sat down -- presumably where Merlin had been. "Whenever you're ready."

"Why are you doing this?"

Ana shrugged and leaned back against the cave wall. "Why not?"

"Are you one of the people Merlin trusts?"

Ana nodded. "I know about his magic, yes. He's right when he says we don't understand, you know. But I'm trying to, even if he won't let me."

"You're close to Merlin."

It wasn't a question, but Ana answered. "Yes, I am. I care a great deal about him. I can tell he cares a great deal about you."

Freya didn't notice, but she had relaxed to the point where her knees were no longer pressed up to her chin, and she did not look so terrified. Ana did notice.

"I think he really likes you, Freya. I mean, I like you too. You seem like a very sweet girl."

"I'm a monster," Freya whispered, bringing her knees up again, but this time in shame, not fear.

"You can't be a monster, Freya. Monsters don't have such beautiful hearts."

When Freya lifted her head to crack a small smile at Ana, the blonde smiled brightly.

"You know, I can't do much about your dress, but we can make you look pretty again before Merlin comes back."

Freya tilted her head. Ana was holding a brush. "Only if you would like to," Ana said quickly. "If you don't feel like --"

"No, it's okay. Merlin trusts you."

Those three little words told Ana just how tight Freya seemed to have latched on to the raven-haired warlock.

Ana smiled and shuffled closer to Freya, who turned to face the wall she had been pressed up against. "I'll be gentle, okay?"

Freya nodded.

"So," Ana said with a grin as she began brushing Freya's hair. "What do you think of my fellow servant?"

"What do you mean?"

Freya tried to sound casual, but Ana could almost feel the heat of her blush.

"I can tell you _all_ his secrets. What he likes, what he doesn't, exactly where to poke when he's not paying attention . . . and where he's ticklish."

Freya perked up. "Merlin is ticklish?"

"Oh, Freya, you have no idea . . ."

* * *

Gaius was suspicious of him, and now so was Halig. Merlin had been magically stealing the meat off Arthur's dinner plate and then the rotten bounty hunter had tried to beat him because apparently, he was convinced Merlin had helped the druid girl get away.

It was true, but no one knew that.

Merlin swore at nothing as he made his way into the caves to look for Freya. She must be worried about him taking so long. He dreaded to think what she must be thinking. All alone, afraid, upset --

"No!"

Merlin stopped dead in his tracks.

Suddenly, there was laughter -- from Freya?

"I don't look like a monkey's arse! Stop laughing!"

But it sounded like Freya was the only one laughing. For a moment, Merlin wondered if she had gone insane on her own. She was so loud with her laughter, only pausing to say something in the same volume.

"What? Show me!"

Slowly, he crept towards the cave. He peered in to see what he was sure was Freya on the floor, sitting with her back against the cave wall as a familiar blonde head above a crimson cloak stood in front of her. Ana puffed out her chest and took angry stomping steps with her arms out on her sides, fists closed.

"That's how he walks, I'm telling you!"

Freya laughed again.

"Like a monkey!" Ana said as she came back to stand in front of Freya. "That's why I say you're perfect. I mean, he acts like a monkey and you look like one."

" _You_ made me look like this!"

Merlin smiled as he heard Freya laugh again. He wanted to show himself, but he was sure the laughter would stop and Ana would leave. How had Ana found Freya in the first place?

"I made you look _lovely_ , it's not my fault there was a face of a monkey's backside under all that dirt!"

"Ana! Well, you look like a fish!"

"It is I," Ana suddenly shouted, throwing her fist into the air, almost mocking the victory pose of a knight, "the fish queen! I have come to land to take back what is mine!"

Freya sputtered out a short laugh.

"Henceforth, man shall not consume my subjects! Man shall not have fish! Man shall not have salt! Man shall perish!"

"What about women?" Freya managed to ask.

"Women shall thrive!" Ana paused. "Women and Merlin! Because we like --"

Merlin nearly dropped the jug hiding the food for Freya, and the metal clanged loudly against the outside of the cave wall.

Ana and Freya froze, both staring at the entrance.

Merlin entered. He cleared his throat. "Um, sorry I took so long."

"Don't worry about it," Ana said, waving her hand. "Freya and I have been having a fun time this past hour or so."

"Ana, you've been missing since morning. It's past sunset already."

"What? Why didn't you look for me?"

"I did! Why do you think it took do long for me to get back here? I never thought you'd be _here_!"

"Oh, that's a good point. Well, I'll leave you two to it. I see you've brought dinner, Merlin. Good, Freya should be hungry again." Ana walked towards the cave entrance. "It was lovely to meet you, Freya."

Freya smiled. "And I you, Ana."

"Remember what we talked about," Ana said with a wink and a glance at Merlin before slipping out.

She didn't leave, though. She had found a rather nice spot to spy in from and she settled in comfortably to see how Freya acted around Merlin. She was curious.

"I'm sorry I took so long," Merlin said again. He set down the food in front of Freya, who had gone back into her foetal position. "You must be hungry."

Merlin paused and looked at Freya. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Freya said with a smile as she took the food from Merlin.

"But you're upset."

 _Wow,_ _you're_ _good_ , Ana thought to herself, careful not to actually direct her thoughts at Merlin, lest he should hear her.

"No," Freya said.

"D'you think I wasn't coming? But I promised you I would."

"Ana said that's what you'd say when you got here. Still, it was in the back of my mind. She's a lovely person, kept me distracted all this time. All the same . . . I scare most people away, you know." Freya's smile was bittersweet.

"I'm not most people," Merlin said with an amused grin.

 _You're_ _adorable, Merlin_.

"How long had you been in that cage?" Merlin asked as he shoved a candle into a corner.

"A few days."

Ana knew this, they had had a brief conversation about it.

"And the bounty hunter?"

"Halig."

"How did he find you?"

Freya sniffed. Without Ana's ridiculous behaviour, the girl had fallen back into her fearful, serious, and morose state. "You can't always trust people."

"I know," Merlin said as he sat down in front of Freya. "That's why I left home."

Ana's curiosity spiked. Merlin had never really mentioned his home before.

"Where is home?" Freya asked.

"Ealdor . . . It's a small village. Just a few fields, a couple of cows. Nothing special."

"My home was next to a lake surrounded by the tallest mountains," Freya said with a look of longing. "In the winter the storms whipped up the water into waves and you thought they were going to crash down and take away all the houses. But in the summer," she paused to smile brightly, "wildflowers and light. It was like heaven."

"Sounds perfect," Merlin said with a smile.

Freya gave another bittersweet smile. "It was."

"Was?"

Ana hasn't delved this far into the topic. She was half afraid Freya would not be able to talk about it.

"My family died."

"Have you been on your own ever since?"

Freya nodded slowly.

"You're not on your own anymore. I'm going to look after you. I promise."

"You can't look after me," Freya said, shaking her head. She smiled sadly. "No one can."

"No, I don't think you understand. I've never known anyone like you."

He reached forward and grabbed Freya's hands. Ana covered her mouth to stop herself from making any sounds. She was amazed at the way they behaved around each other.

And she found the pair absolutely adorable.

"I wish I could stay," Merlin said softly.

Freya looked crushed. "You're going?"

"We need to be careful. I'll come back in the morning."

Merlin stood up. "You know I will be back, don't you?"

Freya nodded. Merlin was at the entrance when she spoke again. "Merlin," she called, waiting for him to turn before she spoke. "I've never known anyone like you either."

Merlin smiled. Ana smiled too as she noticed the flustering way he shuffled out of the cave.

Her little innocent bean was in love, and Ana was in love with the idea.

* * *

Seeing as Merlin had disappeared again, Ana was left to pick up the slack. She knew where he was, but she wasn't about to tell anyone.

"I think they've been killed by some kind of wild animal," Gaius said.

Ana took her head out of the clouds to pay attention to the mutilated bodies of the knights.

"Have your men been able to track the creature?" Uther asked his son.

Arthur shook his head. "That's the strange thing, 'cause the ground is soft. Obviously a bear or wolf would leave some mark. But there are no tracks."

"Then what are these?" Ana asked, pointing.

"Human footprints."

"But they're leading away from the bodies," Gaius said.

"Did someone escape the attack?" Ana asked.

"No one's come forward," Arthur said with a shake of his head.

"Could the person who made these be responsible?" Uther asked the two studying the site.

"I don't believe so," Gaius said.

Ana nodded. "These wounds could only've been inflicted by a beast of considerable size."

"And if this was done by neither a man nor beast," Uther said, "there's only one other explanation. It must be the work of a magical creature."

Ana almost groaned out loud. _Everything is about_ _magic_ _with_ _you_ _,_ _isn't_ _it_?

* * *

"Ana, there you are!"

Ana did groan out loud when she saw Arthur approach her in the hallway. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, you puterelle," Arthur snapped. "I only wanted to ask you if --"

"Puterelle?" Ana repeated loudly. "Listen here, you hedge-born toad--"

" _Hedge-born_?" Arthur shouted. "I'm the _prince_!"

"You don't _act_ like much of a prince," Ana muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you expecting me to be chivalrous and sweep you off your feet?" Arthur spat sarcastically.

"No, but now that you mention it, a little manners would be nice once in a while."

Arthur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where's Merlin?"

Ana shrugged. "Who knows? You probably pissed him off to the point where he's plotting to run away."

"One day, Ana," Arthur said promisingly, "one day, I'm going to give you what you deserve."

Ana rolled her eyes. "Well, it's about damn time I got some respect around here."

"You are unbelievable!" Arthur cried, turning away for a moment.

"I know, right?"

"I should've hanged you a year ago."

"You wouldn't have, or I'd have never saved your life and you'd be dead."

"I don't need to be saved by a girl like you. I can defend myself perfectly fine."

"You wanna bet?" Ana whipped out her dagger and lunged at Arthur, who stepped back reflexively

"You," Arthur said as he pushed the dagger away with his finger, "are unbelievable."

"Sard off, Arthur."

Arthur watched her hand disappear into her cloak and behind her, and when it came forward again, there was no dagger. Where did it go?

"You little cretin. I should throw you in jail."

"You wouldn't be able to. Who's going to believe that the nearly invisible castle maid had a knife on the great Prince Arthur? Worst case senario, I tell your father a sorcerer bewitched me."

"Are you ever going to acknowledge the fact that my father is king?"

"I know who Uther is."

"When are you going to start addressing him as such?"

"I will give respect only to a king that is worthy of wearing that crown."

"That's blasphemy!"

"Maybe so."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You know, I should strike you where you stand."

"Yes, because that's a brilliant idea. What would the people say? You know Prince Arthur? Yes, I heard he killed a maiden. They say it's because she was blasphemous. But no one really knows."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Ana. "You vile, obstinate, rude, blasphemous, wild, rowdy, mannerless creature. I should . . ."

Ana wasn't listening anymore. The wave of emotions hit her unexpectedly, and it nearly knocked her off her feet. She felt immensely blissful, like nothing could ever bring her down. The feeling was of pure joy . . . and something else.

"Oh," she whispered so softly, Arthur wasn't sure he had heard her or if it was his imagination. Regardless, the surprised expression on her face was a clear indication that she was not paying him any attention.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Ana said, but she was smiling brightly. "If you'll excuse me, my lord, I need to go . . . do something."

Arthur watched in surprise as Ana turned and left. How polite was that last statement of hers . . . he would have never guessed that a person like that would call him a hedge-born toad, or any of the other names Ana kept for him. He noticed that as she walked, she was swaying a bit, like a daze of happiness -- or tipsiness. Had she been drinking?

* * *

"Merlin! Ana!"

"Sorry," they chorused and the humming ceased.

"Sit down and eat your soup."

"I'm finished," Ana said, standing up and going to set her bowl with the rest of the dishes waiting for her to wash.

Gaius watched, bewildered, as Ana seemed to move with steps that looked more like a dance than a gait.

Merlin was humming again.

"Merlin," Gaius said.

"Sorry."

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Merlin grinned widely. "I feel great."

"Good. Then you can get on with some chores."

"Chores?" Merlin asked, getting up.

"Unless you have something better to do," Gaius said, a little surprised.

"Sorry, I'm going out."

"Well what time will you be back?"

"Er, well don't wait up for me. I might be late."

And then he was gone. Gaius turned to ask Ana if something seemed off with Merlin, but the dancing maid was also humming the same tune, while fastening her cloak.

"And where are you off to?"

"Gwen's," Ana answered. "I might be late," she added, offering Gaius the same excuse before leaving.

Gaius stared at the door as it closed behind her.

What a strange pair Ana and Merlin made.

* * *

Ana walked through the stone walkways.

"I'm fed up with being careful. I am fed up with all of this. So I've decided, we're going to get you out of here, out of Camelot."

Ana slowed down.

"How?"

"I'll get you some clothes, disguise you . . . What's wrong?"

"It's just, I'm going to miss you."

"No, you won't, because I'm going to come with you." Merlin sounded so very happy.

"What?"

"I told you I'm going to look after you."

"You can't. Don't say that." And Freya sounded so very heartbroken.

"It's not what you want?"

"Merlin, you have a good life here. My life is . . . I have to keep moving, always looking over my shoulder, people chasing me."

"Then we'll go somewhere no one knows us. Somewhere far away."

"You can't leave, Merlin. What about Ana? She cares about you, maybe more than I do. You can't just leave Camelot and leave her behind."

There was silence, so Ana chose to enter the cave. "It's all right, Freya. If Merlin is happy, then so am I . . . and I mean that quite literally."

Ana turned to Merlin. "I once chose your life over mine and I don't remember it. I would do it a hundred times over if it kept you happy, and I will never forget it. I'll let you go, but only if you promise to never forget about me and our bond."

Merlin suddenly grabbed Ana and hugged her as tight as he could without suffocating her. "You're the best, Ana."

"Anything for you, my dunderhead warlock."

Merlin let go of Ana and took Freya's hands. "You haven't given me your answer."

"I want that more than anything," Freya said with a smile. "Where will we go?"

"Somewhere with mountains," Merlin said.

"A few fields."

"Wildflowers."

"A couple of cows."

"And a lake."

Freya nodded. "And a lake."

Ana smiled as she stood to the side, hand over her heart. Catching Arthur kissing Gwen was nothing compared to what she witnessed now as Freya and Merlin talked about their escape.

"I just have one thing to say," Ana cut in. "I'm not old enough to be an aunt yet."

"Ana!" Merlin cried in horror while Freya laughed heartily.

* * *

Arthur and Gwen would both later mention to Ana that they were half afraid they'd next see Merlin wearing a dress. Ana knew why Merlin was caught snooping around in Morgana's wardrobe, but there was no way she was going to let an opportunity for jokes slip by.

But now was no time for jokes, she thought as she looked at the bodies in the lower town.

"The beast has struck again?" Uther asked.

"I'm afraid so," Gaius said. "The wounds match those of the previous victims."

"The man who saw it spoke of a huge black cat with wings," Arthur added.

"I was right. This is not the work of a natural creature."

"Are there any tracks this time?" Ana asked.

Arthur shook his head. "Just human footprints again."

"Can you identify this monster?" Uther asked Gaius.

"I will need more time to investigate."

At this, all three of them stared at Gaius.

"Oh, come on," Uther said, "you always have theories in these matters."

"This time, sire, I prefer to wait till I'm certain."

"There is no time to waste, Gaius," Uther said firmly.

"I'll report back to you before the day's out, sire," Gaius promised.

He beckoned for Ana to follow him away. Seeing as Merlin was once again missing, he intended to spring his questions on Ana. Unfortunately, Arthur wished to speak to Ana.

The blonde maid followed Arthur to his chambers after giving Gaius an apologetic smile. "Anytime now, Arthur," she said when Arthur didn't say anything. "I've got places to be, you know."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Is Merlin all right?"

Ana grinned. "This is about the dress, right?"

Arthur nodded. "Please tell him not to show up to work in it."

Ana laughed. "Like he could fit into it. Have you seen the difference between him and Morgana?"

"Now that you mention it . . ." Arthur mumbled, " _you_ and Morgana are of similar size. Your birthday isn't coming up, is it?"

Ana shook her head and smiled. "Listen, maybe Merlin just wants to feel pretty, okay? Besides, I've heard the colour suits him."

"I never said that," Arthur snapped defensively.

"I never said you did," Ana said with a grin as she turned to leave.

"Hey, you get back here! You were not dismissed."

Ana continued walking. "What are you going to do, give me more chores?"

As she said it, Ana's smile faltered a bit, knowing that if Merlin did leave with Freya, Arthur wouldn't have a servant anymore. Would he really replace Merlin?

* * *

Despite her mind telling her she shouldn't, Ana crept back into the caves just as Merlin returned. He would have to hear what Gaius planned to do, but Ana already knew.

"Freya! Freya!"

Her voice echoed off the cave walls as she ran through them. Suddenly, she bumped into someone and they both fell down. "Freya?"

"Ana?" Freya looked like a deer caught in headlights. "What are you doing here?"

"I can to warn you," Ana said as she accepted Freya's help to stand. "Gaius has gone to the king about . . ."

"So you know then?"

"I've known for a while. I just hoped you would be the one to tell Merlin. It was your secret to share. You and Merlin need to leave as soon as possible."

"I'm leaving, Ana. I can't put Merlin in danger like this. He belongs here in Camelot, with his family."

"He hasn't really got much of a family here," Ana muttered, thinking of the way Arthur tended to bully him, and the fact that everything Merlin was, was outlawed.

"He has _you_ ," Freya said, "and I think you're all the family he needs."

"He'll be crushed, Freya."

"And you'll be there to fix him up. You'll look after him, won't you?"

"Is this really what you want, Freya?"

Freya hesitated, then nodded firmly. "Anything to keep Merlin safe."

Ana sighed. "I know the feeling. You must go now, before the guards find you. Be careful."

Freya nodded. "I will."

She started to walk away, then turned and crushed Ana in a tight embrace. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Ana."

"You're very welcome, Freya. Now go."

Freya smiled at Ana before she fled. Ana sighed. She had to go and find Merlin. Someone had to tell him what Freya had decided.

* * *

Ana walked slowly back up to the castle, focused on the ground as she moved.

Merlin ran into her.

He barely got out an apology before hurrying to get up.

"Merlin, wait!" Ana shouted, grabbing his jacket.

"Ana, I have to go," Merlin said, trying to pull away.

"She's gone, Merlin," Ana said softly as she stood up. "I went to go and tell her that the two of you needed to leave as soon as possible, but . . ."

"You're lying," Merlin said after a moment, moving to head back to the caves.

"Would I really lie to you?" Ana asked, catching Merlin's arm. "I'm so sorry, Merlin, but she's gone. All you can do now is pray she got out of Camelot. Come, it's cold out here."

Merlin turned back to face Ana. "It's not true," he said, hoping that if he said it, he might be right.

"Oh, Merlin," Ana whispered, locking her arms around his neck in a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry, Merlin."

Merlin broke away and walked towards the castle, taking the steps two at a time. Ana stood in the square and watched. If she had not been bound to Merlin in the way that she was, she would've chased after him. But she knew how he felt and what he wanted, so she let him leave.

She would have to find a way to stop his emotions from hitting her so hard. Feeling this broken was not something she wanted to know.

* * *

Ana wandered the halls in silence. She didn't want to go back to Gaius's chambers. Merlin was bound to be there, perhaps talking to Gaius. For some reason, Ana didn't want to be around Merlin.

"Well, don't you look happy."

Ana lifted her head at the amused sarcasm evident in Morgana's voice. "My lady," she greeted politely.

Morgana smiled warmly. "Are you all right?"

Ana shrugged. "I've had better days," she said with a light laugh, hoping Morgana took it as a joke.

"Haven't we all," the black-haired witch sighed. She shook her head and smiled at Ana. "Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Morgana smiled once more and continued walking down the hall. Ana turned around. "My lady!"

"Yes?"

"How are you sleeping these past few nights? Gaius mentioned that you used to have trouble sleeping at night."

Morgana smiled brightly. "I've been sleeping wonderfully, thanks to a little gift."

She briefly flashed Ana a bracelet, but Ana saw it clearly. It was the same one she had seen in Morgana's chambers the day Morgause had left Camelot.

"Good night, my lady."

"Good night, Ana."

With a nod and mini-curtsey, Ana turned and continued her slow walk down the hallway.

"Well, don't you look happy," Arthur mused in the same tone Morgana had used. He called it an experiment, but he was just upset Ana seemed to respect Morgana more than she did him.

Ana lifted her head and rolled her eyes at the prince. "What do you want, you prat?"

"Watch your mouth," Arthur cried with a frown.

"You called me a puterelle, Arthur."

"You called me a yaldson!" Arthur cried defensively.

"That was weeks ago, you thick-headed moron."

Arthur opened his mouth to argue, but the warning bells went off.

"We're not finished," he told Ana before jogging off -- probably to find Leon. Ana bit her lip and stared after him. Why where those bells ringing? Ana could only come up with one answer.

Freya.

* * *

Ana nearly raced around the castle before finding herself in a tower whose window was directly above the trapped Freya.

"Please let me go," Freya begged.

"No one escapes from me," Halig said darkly.

Ana narrowed her eyes and flicked her wrist, sending Halig flying into the guards.

Freya looked around wildly before looking up and finding Ana.

And then the clock began to chime. Freya cried out in pain as she transformed into the vicious creature known as a Bastet.

Arthur and the knights he had rallied fought the creature they knew to only be vicious and murderous. Ana couldn't blame them, but she had to help Freya.

She used her magic to clear a pathway between the knights for Freya to flee. The beast looked up into the tower window and gave a whining sort of growl. In that short window of time where Ana and Freya seemed to have a short and wordless conversation, Arthur struck.

"NO!"

Arthur recognised the voice, but Ana ducked down and sat with her back towards the wall, her hand over her mouth before he could find her. She slowly lifted herself to peer out. She saw Merlin approach, Freya look at him, and then take off.

* * *

Ana had left the tower, but she didn't go all the way to Gaius -- or to Merlin, who was sure to go after Freya. Instead, she hid in a nearly unused stairwell, sitting with her head buried in her knees, curled up as tight as she could.

She hadn't been able to save Freya. It didn't help that with her own grief and guilt, she could feel Merlin's utter heartbreak and sorrow. She didn't know whose feelings clenched her insides more, but one thing was certain. Both she and Merlin were far more upset than either had ever before been.

Arthur found her only by her cloak.

He stopped a little away, wondering if it really had been Ana who had shouted.

"Ana?"

The blonde maid lifted her head. "What? Do you need you sword cleaned or something?"

"Well, yes -- but, that's not why I'm here."

Ana raised her eyebrows when Arthur walked past her and sat down on the step higher than the one she sat one. "It's cause for concern when you don't throw insults around with that smug grin of yours."

Ana put her head back down. "I can't be like that all the time, Arthur."

"What's on your mind?"

"If you'd killed a man in self-defence, and brought a curse upon yourself . . . would you wish to be killed for being cursed . . . or would you wish for someone to help you?"

Arthur frowned at Ana, who was looking up at him curiously. "Where's this coming from, Ana?"

"Just answer the question."

"Well, no. I'd find the sorcerer and have him killed if he refuses to reverse the curse."

Ana nodded. "And what if . . . what if you were cursed to kill people and . . . and you were hunted because of the crimes you committed unwillingly? What if you'd believed in the good of magic your entire life?"

"Well, first off, I don't think I would ever see any good. Look at all the bad that happens around us, Ana. Cursed objects and all these spells and the attack on Morgana, Morgause . . . I just can't see the good in it."

Ana shook her head. "One day, Arthur, one day you will. And when you do, you'll see how wrong you've been all this time."

There was silence for some time where Arthur mulled over Ana's words. "Ana . . . the beast that had been killing people . . . that -- that wasn't you, right? You're not cursed, are you?"

Ana shook her head. "No, but I knew her."

"Did you help her escape?" Arthur asked.

Ana nodded, knowing that would take all suspicion off Merlin. "I had to. But it still didn't work out. She's dead, you know. She was such a sweet girl, and she loved -- she loved so much. Do you know what's the worst part? I have no one to blame for her death."

"What about the sorcerer that cursed her?" Arthur offered, wondering why Ana felt she had no one to blame, seeing as he was the one that delivered the fatal wound to the beast -- or as Ana had made him see, the young girl.

Ana shook her head. "If you could wield magic, and someone killed your child . . . would you really spare them? Think about Odin, you understood him sending an assassin after you. Isn't it the same thing?"

"Well, I suppose -- when you put it like that, yes. Well, isn't it the sorcerer's child at fault for attacking first?"

Ana shook her head. "Is Odin's son to blame for the challenge?"

"That's different. That was a knight's challenge. He wanted to prove himself."

Suddenly, Ana smiled. "I'm impressed, Arthur. You're looking at this whole debacle and you're not throwing the blame on magic."

"Yes, well, you explained it rather well. Don't take this to mean that I will stop seeing magic as evil . . . I just think that in this instance, you're right."

Ana nodded and then she stood up. "I should get going. I have somewhere to be."

"Where are you going?"

"She has to have a funeral. Unfortunately, I don't think it would be wise for you to remember all this. You might start putting things together sooner than is necessary."

Arthur frowned, but before he could ask a question, Ana reached down and placed her hand on his head and whispered, "Sleep, Arthur Pendragon."

* * *

Ana stood behind a tree and watched as Merlin ignited the boat without a word. He stood in the lake, the water coming up mid-calf and watched the boat burn. Slowly, Ana approached him, not bothering about her dress and shoes as she waded in as far as Merlin.

"I'm so sorry."

Merlin turned to her and asked one question before the tears began to fall again. "Why?"

Ana reached up and brushed Merlin's hair from his eyes. "Hey, she's resting now . . . she won't have to bear the burden of her curse any longer. She really loved you, you know."

As she hugged Merlin and he cried into the folds of her cloak, Ana realised that the closer she physically got to Merlin, the less of his emotions she actually felt. Perhaps that was the solution to the problem of feeling both their grief. She would just have to stick by Merlin, come what may.


	10. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> love spells and peace treaties

Ana smirked. "You'd do well to stop staring at the prince every opportunity you get. One might think you have a . . . crush on him."

Gwen's mouth fell open as she turned to Ana, who just smiled. "I know things, you know."

Gwen said nothing as she focused on the shirt she was stitching up. Ana, who was mending a hole in one of Arthur's shirt -- there was a rat in the castle -- continued grinning. "So, why does Uther look like he's about to piss himself?"

"I do wish you'd stop using such foul language," Gwen muttered.

"Trust me, I can get worse."

"I'm sure. Anyway, the rulers of the five kingdoms are coming together to talk about a peace treaty. If it's successful, Camelot will enter a new era of prosperity. If it fails, there's a high chance you'll witness war."

Ana looked out of the window and noticed one of the kings mistreating a joker of sorts. "Who's that?"

Gwen peered out of the window. "King Alined, I think. Oh, look, there's King Olaf. He's so overprotective of his daughter, the Lady Vivian."

"She doesn't look that pleasant," Ana observed.

"No," Gwen agreed, "that's why, when Arthur is presenting me to her, you're going to be there too."

"What? Why? Do you hate me or something?"

Gwen smiled. "Just a little."

* * *

Ana and Gwen walked together, Gwen ignoring Ana as she suggested assassination plots for various people that hugged her -- including Gwen as of this morning.

"Most of our guests are extremely happy here," Arthur was saying, "I'm sure you will be, too."

The blonde princess scoffed. "I am not most of your guests."

"In . . . deed," Arthur said, frowning.

He was glad to notice the two maids approaching.

"Well, er, may I present Guinevere and Ana. They'll be looking after you for the duration of your stay. You'll want for nothing. They are truly two of Camelot's finest." Of course, his gaze was focused on Gwen and Ana tried hard not to laugh.

Lady Vivian, however, had no qualms giggling as she looked the two maids up and down. "Then I fear for Camelot."

Arthur and Gwen look shocked at Vivian"s rudeness, but Ana just added one more name to her hit list with a warm smile at the lousy blonde.

Ana followed the lovestruck pair out of Vivian's guest chambers. There was a brief moment of silence before Arthur and Gwen glanced at each other and burst out laughing.

"Good luck with that one," Arthur said.

Gwen hummed in agreement.

Ana nearly fawned over them out loud, but she kept to a silent smile as Arthur stared at Gwen until she noticed.

He cleared his throat and started to walk away.

"I need to prepare for the feast," he said, before turning around and walking into the wall.

Ana smiled as she leaned towards Gwen. "If I didn't know any better, I might say he was in love with you."

"ANA!"

* * *

Ana walked into Arthur's chambers without knocking.

"Merlin?" Arthur called from behind a screen, "Did you just leave?"

"No," Ana said, "I just entered."

Arthur sighed but didn't say anything. It's not like she would listen.

"Like I was saying," Arthur said while Ana grabbed the shirt with a hole from Merlin and added it to a pile that needed mending, "Anyone trying to impress the Lady Vivian does so at extreme peril. Olaf'd have their head in a vat of hot oil before they'd have a chance to say hello. Besides, she's not my type. She may be beautiful, but she's incredibly rude. You should've heard what she said to Gwen."

"Anyone insulting _Gwen_ should do so at extreme peril," Merlin muttered.

"What?" Arthur asked, popping his head around the screen.

"Arthur, we can see everything," Ana said. "The screen is there for a reason."

Arthur looked down, horrified. Ana grinned, knowing he would be irritated to discover that he was wearing his trousers, but Ana wad taking great pleasure in fooling him.

"I'm going to stab you," he threatened. "One day, I will. And Merlin, what was that you were saying?"

"Nothing. I just know how you feel about her, that's all. That is, if your feelings haven't changed, as I presume they haven't."

"I do have my own vat of hot oil, you know."

Ana laughed.

"You're blushing!" Merlin teased.

"No, I'm not."

"What's wrong with Gwen?" Ana asked with a teasing smile.

"Nothing."

"I think she's very worthy of your love," Merlin said.

"Indeed," Arthur snapped, grabbing a shirt from Merlin, "were it so."

"Which . . . it is."

"Merlin."

"Yes, Arthur?"

"Get out."

"Yes, Sire."

Arthur turned on Ana and gave her the same sarcastic smile. "I will stab you," he said again. "Just watch your back."

Ana laughed as she gathered the torn clothes and left with a smile just like Merlin.

* * *

Ana stood off to the side with the other servants as the jester she had seen earlier decided to breathe fire. She wondered if it were mere trickery or if this jester was using magic in Uther's presence.

"But it is not enough to please just the gentlemen of the court," the jester said, "now I have a spectacle for the ladies."

Butterflies swarmed around, making everyone present smile and gasp in surprise. Ana rolled her eyes, unimpressed. Together, she and Merlin could probably brings dragons back to life.

"It is a skill, indeed," Uther murmured to his guest.

"We aim to please," Alined responded.

The Jester gave a staged gasp. "But what is this, Lady Vivian?"

He put his hand by his ears and when he pulled it back, he released a butterfly. "It has mistaken you for a beautiful flower."

Ana frowned as he pocketed something.

* * *

"What's wrong, Ana?"

The blonde maid looked up at Gaius. "That jester . . . I don't trust him. And that king, the way he mistreats the jester, I don't know, Gaius. I feel like something's going to go wrong before the treaty is signed."

"Well, my dear, if you are going to question the kings present in this castle, I implore you to do it nowhere else but here. I wouldn't want my favourite ward to end up beheaded for treason of another king . . . or something like that."

Ana laughed. "You amuse me so much, Gaius. Very well, I'll keep my suspicions quiet. Although . . . I plan to tell Merlin you called _me_ your favourite."

"Oh, sure. Throw me under the hooves, why don't you?"

Ana smiled at Gaius as she got up to help him clear his table. Gaius shook his head and smiled. Ana was truly a pleasure to have around sometimes . . . _sometimes._

* * *

Ana stood in the council chamber, extremely bored, but forced to do her duty.

"Your demands are noted and will be taken into consideration in due course," Uther told the present kings, "in the meantime, is there anyone else who has any other comments about the northern territories?"

Ana noticed Merlin come in and beckon for Arthur. Curious and desperate to have something else to do, she snuck out of the chamber without alerting Gaius.

She followed them through the corridors and hopped up into the window nearest to them and pulled up her hood. She still didn't quite know how it worked, but she figured if she wanted it to conceal her, it would.

"Did you do it?" Arthur asked, almost impatient.

"I left them in her room," Merlin said, "I thought that was better than a public display."

"You're _sure_ she got them?" Arthur seemed rather fidgety to Ana, and she wasn't exactly sure why.

"I'm sure she will get them," Merlin said confidently.

"Good. All we can do now is wait . . . Oh, but heaven has blessed me. She's even more beautiful than before, don't you agree?"

Ana peered further out and noticed Gwen and Lady Vivian walking along the end of the corridor.

"Yeah," Merlin responded, "erm . . . I'm surprised to hear you talk so openly."

"Nonsense. I want to tell the world. I want to shout it across the kingdom."

Ana's frown was nearly identical to Merlin's.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I understand your feelings, but other people may object."

"Object?" Arthur asked sharply. "To what?"

"Well, you're the future King of Camelot and she's just a lowly serving girl. Albeit, a very nice serving girl . . ."

Ana winced as Merlin caught Arthur's backhand.

"Lady Vivian's of royal blood, a future queen. I will have your head if I hear such insolence again."

Ana lost focus on her cloak as the pieces fell together and Arthur stormed past her.

"Lady Vivian," Merlin murmured, "oh, no!"

* * *

"I may have caused a problem," Merlin said as he entered Gaius' chambers later that evening, "although it wasn't entirely my doing."

"I know," Ana replied distractedly, flipping though Gaius' books. Gaius himself was out at the moment.

"How?"

Ana looked up from the book and raised her eyebrows at the serving boy. "Merlin, sweetheart, what _don't_ I know about you?"

"My favourite colour," Merlin responded, well aware that the question was rhetorical.

"Blue like a calm body of water or a slightly clouded sky," Ana said as she scammed the pages of the book in front of her, "or perhaps crimson, a colour close to blood," she looked up, "and Camelot."

Merlin stared at Ana. "Um . . . the blue," he muttered.

Ana closed the book and smiled at Merlin. "I don't have one, by the way, although I seem to have a preference for the colours of Camelot. Anyway, come sit down. I'm fairly certain Arthur's been enchanted, and like a dollophead, you've gone and given flowers to Gwen --"

"Hey!"

"-- also I found this when I was snooping around in Arthur's chambers."

Merline took the lock of hair from Ana and frowned at it. "Great."

"My sentiments exactly. There are about 636 love spells and I haven't even gone through all these books. Over 150 involve hair. The problem is knowing which one it is."

Merlin frowned and peered at one of the open books. "Hey, let's use this one."

Ana looked at the spell Merlin pointed at. "And what if it's wrong?"

"Then Vivian loses her hair and learns a lesson."

Ana smiled. "Amusing, but I can't risk it. I'm fairly certain that jester was the one. He works for Alined. I knew something was up with the pair of them."

"But why would he want for Arthur to be so . . . _besotted_ \--" they both shuddered "-- with Vivian?"

"Well, we know that Olaf is far too protective of his daughter. If Arthur goes after Vivian, Olaf would be furious. What if it's war Alined wants?"

"Ohh . . . cowardly move, don't you think?"

Ana nodded. "Cowardly but clever.

* * *

Gaius walked into his chambers to find the two servants asleep on open books. "What . . . BREAKFAST!"

Ana shot up, bleary-eyed. "I say we make Vivian bald."

Merline yawned and lifted just his head to look at Ana. "Why not turn Arthur into a frog?" he mumbled.

Gaius pulled the books from in front of them and sat down two bowls of porridge. "What is going on?"

"Arthur's under a _love_ spell," Ana said as she yawned and stretched, leaning back in her chair.

"And we've been trying to find a way to break it," Merlin added, looking at Ana, whose chair was balancing on the two back legs.

"And how did you get to this conclusion?"

"Well, there's no other way Arthur would fall for that wretch Vivian," Ana grumbled, rocking her chair.

"That is severely callously said," Merlin said, "but Ana's right. We think Alined wants to start a war or something and he's using -- Ana!"

Ana laughed lightly as her chair froze and slowly returned to its natural position, all four legs on the ground. "Thanks," she told Merlin, who shook his head.

"You're so reckless, it's a miracle you're not dead yet."

Ana smiled then turned to Gaius. "We spent all night trying to find something. All we know is that there are more than a testable number of remedies that could go very wrong."

Gaius nodded. "Well, then we should just keep Arthur away from Vivian until we can solve this. Come on, eat up. You two still have duties to complete."

"Ugh."

* * *

Ana was once again present behind Uther as he addressed the other kings. She was tired of having to stand there doing nothing all day. She was sure she had duties to do that didn't involve waiting upon people. Sometimes, she wished she had stayed invisible in the castle, but it was too late for that now.

_Ana_

She turned wildly, looking for the sorcerer, until she realised his voice was in her head.

 _Vivian won't_ _leave_ _Arthur's_ _chambers. She's head over_ _heels_ _,_ _I_ _think she's been enchanted as well_.

"Oh, for the love of . . ." Ana whispered her distaste at hearing the woman's name.

"Moving on to our final point for discussion," Uther said.

Ana noticed Alined's jester whisper something to a servant, who in turn approached Olaf.

 _Get her out of there_ now _,_ _Merlin_ _._ _I'm_ _certain Olaf will be on his way in a moment_.

"The boundaries of the eastern territories," Uther was saying.

"This is a point that I am willing to concede," Olaf said.

"Well, that is very good news."

Everyone was startled when Olaf rose from his chair in the middle of Uther's next sentence and roared, "WHAT?!"

Ana fled the council chambers before Olaf could leave.

 _Okay, so_ _I_ _knocked_ _her out_.

Ana couldn't help but smile at Merlin's terrible instincts. _Toss her_ _out_ _the window_.

Merlin's head appeared at Arthur's window. Ana waved up at him.

"Are you insane?!"

"Arthur's on his way there, and so is Olaf and Uther. You need to stay there and make sure Arthur doesn't get himself killed. Leave Vivian to me."

"As much as I would like to, I can't _throw_ _her out the window_!"

"Trust me, Merlin! There's no time to think of anything else!"

Already regretting it, Merlin muttered a spell and Vivian floated out the window. He was planning on guiding Vivian down to Ana, but Arthur burst in and he turned around.

"Why are you hanging around with a bad smell? It's _me_ who needs to bathe. I'm not going to win my love stinking like an old kipper."

Shocked, Merlin turned back to the window, only to see a brief flash of Ana's crimson cloak as she vanished. Ana was many things, and insane seemed to be right at the top of the list.

* * *

Ana stared at Vivian as the girl smiled in her sleep and hugged one of her many pillows. "I have the urge to suffocate you," she murmured, "getting in Arthur's way. I suppose it's not your fault another king doesn't want peace, although . . . you still are quite a brat."

Ana sighed and headed back to the window. As she expected, Olaf had sent guards to check om Vivian, so going out the door was a strong no.

"I hope you develop some humanity," she murmured before jumping off the ledge.

* * *

Merlin jumped as Ana appeared beside him in Gaius' chambers.

"What was that?"

Ana shrugged. "A method of quick travel. I've used it multiple times. I think of my destination, and I close my eyes and move. Short distances such as the window ledge of Vivian's chambers and here can be done in a mere second. Longer distances like the edge of the forest and Veil of Danaria, for example, takes mere hours."

"Oh, so _that's_ how you got there."

Ana nodded. "So, now we have two blond besotted buffoons to deal with. Could my life get any worse?"

Merlin shrugged. "You could've been one of the _blonde_ _besotted buffoons_. Just think, Vivian and a castle maid . . . oh, the outrage."

Ana raised her eyebrows at Merlin. "I have _standards_ , warlock."

Merlin laughed. "I wonder where Arthur is in your standards."

"Taken, for one thing," Ana said as she walked towards the table to continue their research, "and if he weren't, it wouldn't make a difference."

"Really? You're not _besotted_ with the prince of Camelot?" Merline folded his arms and regarded Ana with an amused expression.

Ana sat down and lifted her gaze to Merlin. He seemed to have developed an obsession with the word 'besotted' and she found herself amused by the fact. However, she gave Merlin a neutral expression. "No. Does that surprise you?"

"Honestly? A little."

"I have never been, nor will I ever be, _attracted_ to Arthur, no matter how much I may love him." Ana turned her attention back to the spellbooks.

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" he asked, genuine confusion.

 _Because he might be my brother_ , Ana thought to herself, thinking back to the night she and Arthur had seen their mothers -- or mother, if her fears were correct. "I take him as my brother," Ana murmured, "as do I you."

Merlin didn't ask anything further.

* * *

Night had fallen when Merlin slammed a book shut. "I got it!"

"Are you sure?" Gaius asked, "you're not going to turn Arthur into a hunchback camel or a horny-eyed toad?"

Ana snorted. "Let's save that for another day, hm?"

She frowned as Merlin left to find Arthur. "What's on your mind, dear?"

Ana sighed. "I don't know. Ever since the night the jester put on a show for to court, and we assume the same night he enchanted Arthur, I've been feeling a bit off. It's this stupid bond, Arthur's not in his right mind and somewhere deep down, he knows it. And Merlin is just as worried as I am, so that makes twice the amount of worry I'm feeling." Ana sighed again and put her head in her hands. "I don't know, Gaius. Sometimes I even wonder why I'm here."

Gaius stood up and walked over to Ana tog give her a hug. "You are where you belong, my child, never forget that."

* * *

"Well, this is just superb!" Ana shouted sarcastically. "We didn't manage to stop Arthur and Vivian, we didn't manage to stop Alined, and now his royal highness has gone and gotten himself into a death match with Olaf! Honestly!"

Merlin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know, you're not making it any better. I don't understand it. Trickler's magic is strong, but surely it can't be stronger than mine?"

"These love potions are strange things," Gaius said.

"We need to go to Uther."

"No," Ana said, turning away from the window.

"It's a fight to the death!" Merlin cried.

Gaius shook his head. "If Uther realises that one of the kings is using magic, there will certainly be a war. The only way out of this situation is to unenchant Arthur. And unenchant him fast."

* * *

Ana and Gwen walked together through the corridor. She raised her eyebrows at Merlin as he passed by with Arthur. The warlock shook his head.

"Ah, Guinevere!" Arthur said as he noticed the pair. "You will wish me luck?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows. "Will I?" she asked softly.

"Haven't you heard?" Arthur asked, unaware of Gwen's expressions.

"Oh, yes. I've heard. Though sadly not from your lips. I wish you could've been more honest with me, Arthur."

Ana shrugged at Merlin and followed Gwen.

"Are you all right?" she asked uncertainly.

Gwen smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine."

"That doesn't look like a very fine smile, Gwen."

Gwen shook her head again. "It's nothing, Ana."

Ana shook her head as well. "You can tell me. What is it?"

Gwen sighed. "I waited for Arthur last night, but he never showed. I should've known it was too good to be true. After all, here he is fighting for Vivian."

Ana bit her lip. She didn't know what to say, nor what to do.

"If you'll excuse me, my lady."

Ana was so focused on the tears Gwen was trying to hide as she turned and left, she did not notice the title Gwen had given her. It would return to her after everything had settled, but for now, she had more pressing matters to deal with.

* * *

Gaius inspected Arthur's wounds inside his tent. Olaf had succeeded in besting Arthur for this round.

"One of your ribs is broken, sire."

"Nothing can hurt me today. I'm invincible. Love really can conquer all, Gaius. It's true."

Ana sat on a chair in the corner, arms folded and wincing in pain every time Arthur moved. She was half-convinced she should tell him to stop moving, but with all his thoughts on Vivian, where would he listen to her?

Gaius leaned towards Merlin. "This can't go on. The fight's not fair. Arthur's head's in the clouds."

Ana frowned as Merlin responded in the same volume. "I don't know what to do."

Gaius glanced at Arthur, who clearly could not feel his wounds, then at Ana, who clearly could. "Then find someone who does."

Merlin stared at Ana, who was clutching her side now and throwing glares at Arthur. Suddenly, Ana sat up. "I've got it!"

She stood up, despite her pain and walked towards the entrance of the tent. Merlin grabbed her and held her back. "Until Arthur is healed, you've to bear the same wounds. You can't walk about."

"Keep Arthur still and I'll be perfectly fine. We should've done this in the beginning. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Ana fell against Gwen's door and the wood gave way, dropping Ana on the floor.

"Ana! What's happened?"

She helped Ana up and lightly slapped her face to wake her up. "Ana!"

"It's Arthur. He needs you right now."

Gwen smiled sadly and shook her head as she gently guided Ana to a chair. "I do not think he needs me."

Ana doubled over and hissed in pain. "Fine. Then I need you. He's under a spell, and with every beating Arthur takes because his head is in the clouds, I find it increasingly harder to hide our bond. I'm perfectly sure you know of it, considering how much you know about me but won't say. Every feeling he has towards Vivian is false, you know that. Besides, why would I lie to the only person who knows me better than I know myself?"

Gwen stared at Ana as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"If Arthur doesn't kill me today, I'll kill him tomorrow," Ana muttered. She looked up and around the empty house and smiled.

A few moments later, she fell asleep.

* * *

Ana felt like she was floating on water, swaying gently. Unfortunately, she could still feel the pain of Arthur's wounds. The one in her side ached much more than any others and she hissed slightly as she turned her head. She felt secure and protected in the arms of whoever carried her, and she attempted to move closer, even though that was impossible.

As soon as she did, however, the pain in her side intensified and Arthur was the one who hissed. Ana woke up sharply and tried to scramble from his arms.

"Put me down, Arthur," she demanded, "you're hurt!" 

"As are you," Arthur responded, not pausing to talk to her or allow her to walk on her own, "Gwen wouldn't say, so you have two options. We go to Gaius and you explain yourself in front of both him and Merlin, or you rest in my chambers and explain yourself alone."

Ana huffed and debated allowing herself to become dead weight in Arthur's arms, but that would likely put strain on his injuries, which would, in turn, hurt her. Instead, she put one arm around his shoulders in an attempt to lighten her weight.

"What if I refuse to speak?"

"You won't. I know you, Ana, and I know your secrets."

Ana narrowed her eyes at the prince. "You're lying."

Arthur smirked. "Maybe. But are you going to press for the truth?"

* * *

Ana sat on the edge of the bed and watched Arthur lean against the wardrobe with his arms folded as _he_ watched _her._

"We've been here for three hours. I can stand here all night, and after we bid the kings goodbye tomorrow morning, we can come back here and continue."

Ana pouted. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"We can start with all those wounds," Arthur said, waving his hand in Ana's general direction. "Nearly half of them are the exact same as my own, some before we've even met."

"What?"

Arthur didn't miss that this was a surprise to Ana.

"It's true," the prince continued, "of course, I haven't said a word as yet. There's some claw marks from an animal, scratches from small nicks and things, scars from sword fights, things like that. Of course, having known you as long as I have, I'm perfectly certain you've thrown yourself into multiple fights and situations in order to receive similar scars. Can you tell me, Ana, why most of them identically match my own?"

Ana bit her lip. "No, my lord. I can't."

"You can't? Or you _won't_?"

"I can't," Ana said firmly, "because I myself don't know what it is."

Arthur frowned as she stood up. He shifted slightly, knowing it would affect his wounds and watched carefully as Ana faltered ever so slightly. She walked over to him and stared him down. She reached up with both hands and Arthur dodged, moving back from her and holding one arm out.

"No, this will make it thrice you've removed my memory. I will not allow you to do it again."

Ana's eyes widened. "When did you regain your memory?"

Arthur shrugged. "I'm not sure. A few minutes ago, maybe."

"And the first time, when did you regain it?"

Arthur shrugged again. "Just before you put me to sleep."

Ana glanced at her hands. "Interesting," she murmured.

"Interesting?! You're using _magic!_ And not just that on its own, you've used it on me! Multiple times!"

"Oh, for God's sake, Arthur! This is why I had to remove your memory! Because you react like _this_. I need you to open your eyes to the good in magic before I allow you to open your eyes to what surrounds you. I'm sorry, I can't give you the answers you seek, and I can't allow you to remember. It matters not whether you mean well or otherwise. Your father is against everything that I am, and if he finds out that you've known all along, you'll join me at the stake. My duty is to keep you safe, and if that includes harming you, then you can be rest assured nothing will stop me. A little memory loss won't kill you, Arthur, and in due time, you will regain your memories, as will I. Please, Arthur, let me --"

"No. You are a sorceress. And I've let you into the centre of Camelot . . . for all I know, you could be --"

Ana raised her eyebrows at Arthur. "I could be what? We've had this conversation before, you remember. I do not wish to have it again. Come now, don't be childish."

"Childish! I'm being perfectly reasonable!"

The prince was so focused on extracting answers from the unwilling maid, he did not realise that she was standing right in front of him. It was too late when he realised, and she had already put him to sleep.

"This is going to frustrate me until it stops," Ana murmured as she tucked Arthur into bed. "Now, back to Gwen's."

* * *

Gwen opened the door on Ana's third tap. They sat for a moment at the table in silence.

"So, I hope you didn't think your tiny little slip . . . _slipped_ by me."

Gwen glanced down at the table. "You do remember that there are things I cannot talk about."

"I also recall you mentioning that you are able to talk about things I have spoken about. So, here's my question. Have I ever spoken about my birthright?"

"Yes."

"Would answering my questions lead to more questions?"

"Probably."

"Questions you may not be able to answer?"

"Possibly."

"If I asked, would you answer what you can?"

Gwen hesitated. Then she lifted her chin. "As I see fit."

Ana nodded. "Fine by me. So, what is my birthright?"

"Your birthright was taken the moment you were born. It's complicated, and even if I could, I would be unable to explain it properly. Your kind is incredibly complex, but fear not, you will remember it all. You are your parents' firstborn and thereby their heir. However, the nature of your birth, as well as your entire existence, is something you cannot as yet comprehend and therefore I cannot explain it."

Ana sighed, knowing that no matter how hard she pressed, Gwen would not budge. "My _kind_?" she asked instead.

"You are not of this earth, Ana. In fact, you are not of this plane of existence." Gwen frowned. "Right _now,_ you are, but that's because of the protective charms placed upon you. As I've said before, your name is what will return your possessions and your memories to you. The second you hear your name, these enchantments will fall away and not only will you return to the way you once were, but you will also be subject to the laws of your people and thereby the consequences of your actions. You will no longer be safe."

"Who else knows my name?"

"To the best of my knowledge, myself alone. Perhaps there are people you have met that you may have given your name to, but we are fairly certain you will not cross paths with these people without you having sought them out. Of course, your people know your name, as they are the ones that gave it to you, but with you enchantments in place, they cannot approach you."

Ana nodded, taking in this new information. "Thank you for telling me this, Gwen. I do wish I could remember."

"When you do, you'll remember why you had to forget. It was necessary in order to keep you safe."

Ana understood, because she found herself doing the same to Arthur.


	11. The Witch's Quickening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal of Neahtid shows Ana memories, hallucination or futures, she isn't quite sure.

The rain would normally serve as a lullaby, so Ana wasn't certain why tonight was something special.

She sat on the little cot and leaned against the wall, a harmless flame above her shoulder as she read books she had taken from the palace library. Her favourite, by far, was a collection of little tales of Camelot, presumably told to children. She had come to read it so often, Geoffery offered her the book to keep. Of these little tales, one, in particular, stuck out to her, and she often found herself reading it over and over again.

"The legend of the Immortal Saviour," Ana murmured as she turned the page to the story. She glanced at her side to make sure nothing else had caught fire, even though she knew her magic was smarter than that.

She took a deep breath and began the short story once again.

 _Time-Keepers are dangerous beings, for they are like us, and yet they could not be more different. When a_ _newborn_ _baby does not_ _truly_ _receive_ _the gift of life, they are given a gift far_ _greater_ _than our mortal lives. They are given the gift of time, and of being timeless. These Time-Keepers are the_ _guardians_ _of_ _time_ _. Precious time, their only weakness. Let it be taken from them and you will find_ _yourself_ _facing a mere mortal. But_ _beware_ _, only a higher-ranked being may revoke the gift of time from one who is bestowed with it._

_Time is something we have no control over. Some may think they have the gift of time, such as witches and wizards, warlocks and sorcerers,_ _time_ _travellers and Time Lords, but it is not so. Their gifts are illusions of what it_ _truly_ _is to control time. Not even the most powerful of these can control time._ _Everything_ _they and we can do is because Time wills it to be so._

_These Time-Keepers guard us and_ _protect_ _us,_ _ensuring_ _that everything goes as it is meant to. They are forbidden to interfere, and not a soul knows what happens to_ _those_ _who do. Time-Keepers are aware of everything that must_ _occur_ _in order to_ _achieve_ _the end, and they will go to any means necessary to ensure their charge fulfils Destiny._

_Time-Keepers belong to Time. They are her warriors. They are Fate's soldiers. They are Destiny's archangels._

_There is one they call the Immortal Saviour, one who will guard her charge without her_ _timely_ _gifts until they are returned to her. A Time-Keeper who will walk among us, living a mortal life, until she chooses to return. They will call_ _this_ _Time-Keeper a fallen angel. She will protect a lineage for_ _centuries_ _to come, and Camelot will thrive under her. So_ _fear_ _not little one, for the one they call the Immortal Saviour will always protect you as you sleep_.

Ana smiled as she hugged the book to her chest, imagining these beings of fiction being real. Perhaps there was such a thing, and if there was, would she meet one? She certainly wished she could.

She jumped slightly when she heard a noise from Merlin's room. She glanced at Gaius, who slept soundly on the couch. With a glance at the flame, she put it out just before Merlin opening his door and walked out and into the hallway.

"What is that boy up to now?" Ana muttered as she slipped her shoes on and followed. She crept behind Merlin as he snuck around, Merlin without the luxury of a magical concealing cloak.

"The Forest of Brekkba," Merlin murmured.

Where was he going? Ana frowned and decided to try prying into his mind. As she did, she heard the sounds of a child's voice. Thus far, there was only one child she knew of that Merlin found himself telepathically connected to.

Mordred.

* * *

"What do you mean you lost them?!" Arthur cried as he thundered down the corridor, the warning bells still ringing. "They could be dangerous!"

Merlin stepped around the corner, and without the daylight to see properly, Arthur thought he was one of the men that were the reason the bells were tolling. He grabbed Merlin by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

"Wait, no!" Ana shouted, seeming to appear from thin air.

"Merlin?" the prince asked.

The warlock sputtered something and Arthur realised he still had Merlin by the throat. "Oh, sorry," he said, quickly letting go. "What is it?"

"They're in Morgana's chambers," Ana said while Merlin coughed. With that, Arthur bolted, his guards behind him.

"What are you doing out here?" Merlin asked softly -- rasping would be a better description.

"You just walked out like a zombie. I decided to follow you. It's Mordred, isn't it?"

Merlin didn't ask Ana what a zombie was and instead chose to focus on what was important. "Come on," he said, grabbing Ana's hand and rushing to join Arthur and the guards.

"Are you sure about this?" Arthur asked when they stopped in front of Morgana's doors.

"Definitely," Merlin responded. "I . . . saw them with my own eyes."

"What were you doing down there?" Arthur asked. Ana raised her eyebrows at Merlin.

"I heard voices in my . . ."

"In your . . .?"

"Chambers," Ana supplied.

"Yeah," Merlin agreed, "and I thought I should investigate."

"Frankly, Merlin, it's hard to believe."

"Er. . ."

"For once, you've shown some real initiative."

Ana rolled her eyes as the two boys leaned towards the door to listen in. Arthur took a step back and kicked the door in. Morgana sat up sharply.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" she cried.

Arthur faltered. "I . . ." he looked around, "I'd reason to believe that there was an intruder in here."

"Right now, Arthur, the only intruder is you."

"Camelot has been infiltrated," Arthur said, "did you not hear the warning bell?"

"Of course I did!" Morgana cried, "I was hoping I'd be safe in my chambers."

"Well, if you'd just permit me to search your room . . ."

"You'll do no such thing! Arthur, do you think that if there was someone in my room I wouldn't know about it?"

"Please accept my apologies."

Ana stared at Morgana as Arthur left. She tried as hard as she could to get into Morgana's head, but it was to no avail. Still, without the use of her gifts, she could tell Morgana was hiding something.

Arthur closed the door, not realising that Ana hadn't moved.

"I don't understand," Merlin murmured.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Merlin. Which bit didn't you understand? The making a fool out of me, or making a fool out of yourself?" Arthur's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"There was someone in there," Merlin insisted, "I _know_ there was."

"A word of advice, Merlin. In the future, stick to what you do best: Nothing!" The prince looked around the corridor at the guards and Merlin. "Where's Ana?"

Leon pointed to the door. With a sighed, Arthur opened the door, grabbed Ana's arm, pulled her out and closed the door again.

"Ow, what the hell, Arthur?" Ana yanked her arm out of Arthur's grasp.

"What were you still doing in there?"

"There is most definitely someone in her room, and when I find him . . . he's going to wish he'd never been born."

"Great, so you're both insane. Go back to bed."

Leon noticed that Arthur spoke mainly to Ana.

* * *

Merlin trudged from his room, holding his head.

"Late night?" Gaius asked.

"You could say that. Is Ana still asleep?"

Gaius gestured to the blonde on the little bed. "I hear there was a disturbance, an intruder in the city.

"Yeah, I heard talking," Merlin said, "in my head."

"They had magic?"

Merlin nodded. "And I recognised the voice. It was Mordred."

"The druid boy? What's he doing here?"

"He was guiding someone to Morgana's Chamber."

"You sure?" Gaius asked, "she and the boy had a kind of bond."

"Yeah, but this is about more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"What if they'd been caught? Whatever they were doing, they were prepared to die for it."

* * *

Ana walked into Arthur's chambers to see Morgana straightening up. The king's ward turned around and jumped ever so slightly when she saw the maid.

"Ana! I was looking for Arthur."

"He's out training," Ana replied.

"Of course."

"He, er, he trains every day. The same time, same place." She raised her eyebrows slightly.

"I--I just wanted to apologise for last night. Another time, perhaps." Morgana rushed out of Arthur's chambers. Ana stared at the empty doorway. She wandered over to the nightstand and stared at it, folding her arms.

"What could you possibly want over here? Keys? Keys to what? Not the dungeons, I recognise that set. Not the palace gates, those are still here. Not the armoury, Arthur has those with him. Then . . . oh no."

* * *

Ana stared at the gate and wondered how she was going to get in and out without a trace. She had no key and all the spells she knew would end up breaking the lock. After a moment's consideration, she pulled out the pin holding an alteration in her dress she had yet to do and bent it into the shape she would need.

"Come on," she whispered. She squealed softly when the lock clicked open. She pushed the gate slowly, hoping it wouldn't squeak. Slowly, she made her way to the crystal that sat on the velvet cushion.

"Now, why are _you_ so important?" she murmured, pulling out a bag from beneath her cloak. She turned it over and an identical crystal fell into her hand. She reached out for the real one, but something told her not to touch it. Using her cloak, she picked it up and put it in the bag, leaving the fake one in its place. Then she fled.

* * *

_Ana, where_ are _you_ _?_

"The Crystal of Neahtid," Arthur said. He studied the gate. "The locks are not damaged."

"What does that tell you?" Merlin asked, distracted by Ana's prolonged absence.

"It tells me that somebody stole my keys."

Merlin knew he should say something, but what? "Was it precious, this crystal?"

"Of course it was precious. It wouldn't be down here otherwise, would it?"

"Right," Merlin murmured.

"Whoever it was, knew exactly what they were looking for."

"Apparently," the warlock muttered, wondering if Ana was perhaps to blame. Although, why would she steal the crystal? What did she know?

"Apparently? That's all you've got to say? Tell me, Merlin? Whose job is it to ensure that my chambers are locked at all times? Whose job is it to ensure that something like this never happens?!"

"Sorry," Merlin said, knowing that was the answer expected of him.

* * *

Ana woke up with no memory of how she'd arrived in the forest. "Well, isn't this just a pleasant case of deja vu," she muttered, sitting up and squinting in the morning sun. She checked herself for injuries, then for the crystal.

The crystal slipped from its pouch, landing with a thud on the soft grass. Ana stared at it for a moment. "What _are_ you?"

_The Crystal of Neahtid was locked away for good reason._

Ana whipped her head around, searching for the source of Uther's voice.

_Why is it so important?_

"Arthur?"

_It is an instrument of magic. In the days of the Purge, a great many sorcerers died trying to protect it. Whatever it is, it's important to them._

Ana looked around, deciding that she was safe and the words were being spoken elsewhere. She glanced back at the white stone before her. "The crystal of Neahtid," she murmured, "how can a crystal be dangerous? I wonder if Merlin would be asking Gaius any important questions."

Ana closed her eyes and tried to listen for the warlock.

_Uther said it was an instrument of magic._

Ana smiled. _Good warlock._

Through Merlin's ears, she listened to Gaius' response. _There are many legends about the Crystal._

 _Is it some kind of weapon?_ "That's a good question," Ana murmured.

_That I don't know._

_You've heard of it?_

_Indeed. The sorcerers of the past believed it held the secret of time itself._

_What do they mean by that?_

_I'm not sure. The crystal's an artefact of the Old Religion. There is only one who could tell you more._

Merlin left Gaius then, so Ana opened her eyes and looked at the crystal once more. "The secret of time?"

Slowly, she reached out to touch the crystal. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous to hold it, but she knew there must be a reason.

She picked up the crystal and stared at it. Between the sharp edges and smooth planes, images flashed at her and sounds drowned out the birds of the forest.

" _Ana! You're finally here! Did_ _you_ _hear, Mother has a gift for_ _you_ _. Another failed_ _attempt_ _for the boy. Mother says_ _it's your_ _turn to try._ "

Ana stared hard at the two women in white as they ran. She didn't recognise herself, nor the smiling brunette beside her. She barely had the chance to look closer when something else flashed over it. Arthur held an ornate goblet.

" _Merlin, apologise!_ _I'll_ _drink it_."

Merlin repeated the word no multiple times. " _It's -- it's alright_."

Ana clutched the crystal tighter and watched herself snatch the goblet from Merlin. The scene changed before she saw what the result was.

" _Your crimes are unforgivable_ _. You do not deserve your gifts_."

Ana's knuckles matched the crystal's original colour. "What have I done?"

" _You'll be a mortal, but safe from Mother. Goodbye, sister._ "

Ana waited for an explanation, but she was given no such luxury. Next, she recognised herself in a battlefield.

" _You cannot_ _split_ _your_ _soul, Salvador!_ "

" _Then_ _I_ _give up my immortality!_ "

"What?" Ana murmured before the scene changed once again. Like the first, she could not recognise herself, but she somehow knew who she was.

" _I have lived longer than our lineage has_ existed. _If you think I wouldn't die_ _for_ _you, then_ \--"

" _You will if you don't let me help you!_ "

Ana dropped the crystal when she saw Merlin turn her around. Who had she been speaking to? What had she been saying? Nothing made sense to her, and her head felt so very heavy. She just needed to hide the crystal, then she could find her way back to Camelot, and to her comfortable bed, then to answers she prayed Gaius or Gwen would have. She spared a glance at the crystal, and she could have sworn she had heard Arthur's voice ring in the forest, her eyes fixed on a battlefield much greener.

" _Merlin is dead_."

* * *

"You followed the Lady Morgana?" Gaius questioned.

"She was looking shifty!" Merlin defended.

"No matter. The man you saw, what did you say his name was?"

"Alvarr."

"Yes, he has a fearsome reputation."

"You know of him?" Merlin asked.

"I know he's a sorcerer, and that he and his band of renegades have threatened to overthrow the King."

"He sounded pretty determined."

"He's a fanatic, and his supporters follow him unthinkingly, blinded by his charisma."

"Well, it worked on Morgana."

"So it would seem."

"And the druid boy," Merlin added, "Alvarr's using him too. He seems to think the boy can harness the power of the Crystal."

"We can't let this happen, Merlin."

"But if we can't go to Uther, what can we do? Ana would be able to convince him, he listens to her for some reason. But she's still missing."

Gaius frowned for a moment. "Ana puzzles me, Merlin. Just when I think I understand her, she'll do something completely out of character. I wouldn't worry. She has extensive knowledge on defending herself -- with and without magic -- as well as many healing plants and potions."

"I know! We can convince Arthur to send out a search party!"

"And what good will that do? We must recover the crystal."

"Yes, but I know where the druid camp is. I'll lead Arthur to it. Who knows, maybe we will find Ana on the way."

"Will Arthur join the search party is another question."

"I'll convince him."

* * *

"She's _missing_? Well, why didn't you say something sooner!"

"Er . . . well, we've only just discovered that there are, um, signs of a struggle?" Merlin frowned at his words -- and Arthur's response to Merlin's _opening_ _statement_.

"Perhaps whoever's taken the crystal has taken her as well," Arthur mused out loud.

"Why?" Merlin blurted.

"I don't know!" Arthur cried, "go and get the horses ready. We ride at dusk."

"But -- but -- your father -- won't he -- er, what?"

Arthur waved Merlin away. "I'll just tell him we've got a lead for the crystal. Perhaps that way we can take a few guards with. Well, what are you still standing here for? Go, get out! No, wait! Tell Gaius I'd like to see him."

* * *

"You know the whereabouts of the Crystal?" Uther asked.

From in front of the king, Arthur gave Gaius an encouraging nod.

"I believe so, Sire," Gaius said, still confused at what had previously occurred.

"I see. How did you come by this information?"

"In my capacity as a physician, I have dealings with many people. They hear things, Sire, and they see things. Last night I was confronted by one such man who told me that the Crystal had been stolen by a band of renegades led by a man called Alvarr."

Gaius knew he wasn't lying, just bending the truth a little, but that wasn't what bothered him. Since when was Arthur prepared to outright lie to his father -- and have others lie too?

"Who exactly was this informant?"

"I think it would only be fair to protect their identity, Sire. If news of the betrayal were to reach the renegades, it could indeed endanger their life."

"Very well."

"Where is this Alvarr hiding?" Arthur asked.

"He was last seen in the Valley of Chemray, Sire."

"Summon the guards, Arthur. I want this matter investigated without delay."

"Yes, Father."

Merlin followed Arthur with an amused grin on his face. He wasn't about to ruin Arthur's 'clever' moment. Let Arthur think he'd come up with a wonderful plan all on his own.

"What's that look for?"

"No reason, my lord."

* * *

They rode out that night, Merlin in silence. He really did wonder what happened to Ana, and now with Arthur so concerned about her, how would he lead Arthur to the crystal?

"I don't know why I bring you on these expeditions," Arthur said, "you spend the whole time terrified."

"I'm not terrified," Merlin argued.

"Yes, you are. I can tell you are."

"No, you can't."

"If you weren't scared, you'd be talking rubbish as usual."

"Well, I am talking rubbish as usual." It took a moment for Merlin to realise what he had said. "I mean, I am talking as usual, so clearly I'm not scared."

"What's that?" Arthur asked, stopping his horse sharply. Merlin almost bumped into him.

"It looks like a person, my lord," Leon replied, "but . . . not one of us? There's no emblem on the cloak."

"Ana!" Merlin cried, falling off his horse in an attempt to get to her quickly.

"Idiot," Arthur muttered, jumping dismounting his own horse and then picking Merlin up off the floor. Merlin barely had both feet on the ground before he was off, sprinting towards the woman lying face down on the grass.

"Ana!"

"Merlin! Slow down, you're going to -- trip," Arthur finished with a sigh when Merlin did exactly that. Much more careful, Arthur jogged over. "Is she all right?"

"I don't know."

Arthur knelt down on the other side of the blonde. "Is she _alive_?"

Merlin nodded. He nudged her lightly. "Ana?"

She grunted softly. "I give up," she murmured, turning her head slightly, "my immortality."

"What's she saying?" Arthur asked.

"Nonsense. She's fine, she always talks rubbish in her sleep. Ana, wake up."

Ana sat up with a yell.

"Hey, calm down! It's me, Merlin!" the warlock yelled, grabbing Ana's arms and turning her to face him.

Ana stared at him for a moment. "Why are you out here?" she mumbled.

"Why are _you_?" Merlin countered. He moved her hair back and touched a scabbed wound on her forehead lightly. "What happened to you?"

Ana shrugged. "I don't remember. I kept the Crystal of Neahtid safe from the druid thieves but I don't remember how. I know there was a man, Alvarr, you mustn't trust him, he's trying to get Mordred to use the Crystal to kill Uther. Alvarr was the one there when the bells rang."

Merlin glanced at Arthur. Ana wasn't finished. They both turned their attention to her as she spoke to Merlin alone.

"The Crystal must be some kind of magic because as soon as I stole it, I woke up here, I think. I don't know where the druids are anymore, but someone in Camelot was the one who took the Crystal to give to them."

Merlin took Ana's hands and pulled her up to her feet. "Ana, where is the Crystal now?"

Ana held out a black velvet bag to Merlin, then turned around and passed it to Arthur. "You'd best get that locked up once again," she mumbled, heavily depending on Merlin for support.

Arthur dropped the crystal into his hand and studied it. "So, you have no memory of how you got this from the druids? How do I know _you_ weren't the one who stole it in the first place?"

"Arthur!" Merlin cried, frowning. "How could you even _suspect_ her?! She has done nothing but save your life at every turn and _this_ is how low you think of her?"

Arthur pointed the crystal at Merlin. "Are you questioning me?"

"Get that thing out of my face," Merlin snapped, not liking the eerie feeling looking at it gave him.

"Are you actually _ordering me around_?"

Merlin snatched the crystal from Arthur when the prince shoved it further in his face. It was a mere glance, but it was still too much. Merlin looked into the crystal and saw the Great Dragon flying high, then himself surrounded by flames. The images flew by, Camelot smoking and in ruins, the dragon breathing fire, and tears streaming down his own face.

Merlin dropped the crystal. While Arthur complained about Merlin, Ana leaned into him. "Did you look into the crystal?" she asked softly.

Merlin nodded.

"I gave it to Arthur because I didn't want you to."

Merlin looked down at her. She looked sleepy, in all honesty, her head rolling forward every few seconds before she jerked it back up. "Did you?"

Ana hummed a response. "Can we go?"

"And what are the two of you whispering about now?" Arthur demanded, "let's go. We've got Ana and the crystal. No one needs to know how, it would make Ana look guilty."

Merlin smiled. He knew Arthur would never just blame Ana without solid evidence.

"Come on, Ana. Slowly now."

* * *

"Go home, Merlin, and that's an order!" Arthur hissed.

"No!" Merlin snapped as they crouched behind the bushes.

"We can't have the crystal here!"

"It's safe with Ana!"

"SHE'S UNCONSCIOUS!" Arthur yelled, standing up.

"Well, aren't you a genius," Merlin murmured as the entire renegade camp took notice of their presence.

"Run, Mordred!" Alvarr cried.

Merlin looked around and caught sight of a branch. With a golden glow in his eyes, the branch extended, tripping the druid boy. Mordred used his own magic to throw off the guards chasing him. He stared right at Merlin.

_I shall never forgive this, Emrys, and I shall never forget._

Then he ran off. In her sleep, Ana shifted slightly. "Emrys. . ."

The guards checked the fallen renegades for survivors. There was only Alvarr, whom they took prisoner.

* * *

Alvarr kneeled before Uther and the court in the council chamber.

"So, you admit to stealing the Crystal of Neahtid?" Uther asked.

"I do."

"You admit to plotting against your King?"

"I do."

"And you acted alone? You were not aided or abetted by any citizen of Camelot?"

"I acted alone."

"Then I find you guilty of treason. You are an enemy of Camelot, Alvarr. You are sentenced to death."

"Then I die with honour. To be an enemy of Camelot is no crime."

Uther motioned for the guards to take him away.

"You, Uther, you are the criminal."

Once everyone else had exited, Merlin hurried back to Gaius' chambers to see Ana.

"She's just woken up," Gaius said when the warlock walked in. Merlin gave Gaius a nod before opening the door right on the end. "Ana?"

"Merlin!" She sprang up from where she had been sitting and hugged Merlin tight. "You're okay!"

"Ana, you spoke to me four hours ago," Merlin said with a laugh.

"I wasn't fully aware. I thought I'd been dreaming. Then I woke in here and you weren't nearby and I -- I thought --"

"Why would you think like that?" Merlin asked, pulling back so he could study Ana.

"The crystal. I don't know how it works. It showed me things -- things that might not even be real. But you . . . I heard Arthur say that you were -- you were --"

"Dead?" Merlin asked. "Oh, Ana, do I look like the type to just go about dying?"

Ana frowned. "You'd have drunk from that goblet had I not snatched it from you seconds before you did, so yes, you do look like the type."

"You remember?"

Ana shook her head. "It's one of the things I saw in the crystal. Do you remember?"

Merlin shrugged. "That's all I remember."

Ana sighed. "Merlin, I don't even know who I am -- _what_ I am -- who I was. . ."

"Doesn't matter. I know you as Ana, a feisty and short little maid who has a strangely good defensive and offensive skill. Whoever you were probably died when you drank from the chalice, but hey, you got to stay anyway. Besides, for someone with no memory, you seem to be doing perfectly all right. Now, do you want to tell me how you really ended up with the crystal?" 

Later that night, when Ana had fallen asleep, Merlin sat down to eat with Gaius, although he didn't do much eating.

"Merlin? Is there something interesting in there?"

Merlin looked up from his untouched soup. "Sorry?"

"What's the matter?"

"It's the Crystal. It harbours a terrible power, Gaius."

"It's locked away now. It can do no harm." Gaius studied the warlock. "Unless the damage has already been done."

"I held it. I knew I shouldn't. I knew no good would come of it, but it compelled me to look. I couldn't resist it. I saw things, terrible things."

"Then you've already paid the price," Gaius stated.

"But what I saw has not yet come to pass, and I am scared, Gaius. I am really scared of what the future may hold."

"There is nothing on this earth that can know all possible futures, even the Crystal."

"But what I saw, it was so real."

Gaius nodded. "It was real, but it was just one reality. The future is as yet unshaped. It is we that shape it. It is you, Merlin. The decisions you make. The actions you take. Remember that. Eat your soup before it gets cold."

Ana turned over and faced the wall. _The future is yet unshaped_.

* * *

Ana tossed and turned in her sleep, sitting up sharply when the warning bells rang both in her dreams and in reality. "Morgana's set him free."

In the council chamber, Arthur was dangerously close to pulling out his own hair. "We've searched the citadel, the town, and every corner of Camelot."

"But he's gone?" Uther asked once more.

"Yes, Father."

"How? How has he escaped?"

"It appears that the guards were drugged."

"That means he had help. Someone. . ." Morgana walked into the room ". . .here in Camelot."

"Afraid it looks that way," Arthur said, sighing and dropping his head 

Uther addressed everyone present, but his gaze never left his ward. "Let this be understood, whoever has done this, they have betrayed me. They have betrayed the kingdom. If I ever discover who it was, they will rue the day they were born."

Morgana neither did nor said anything.

Back in Gaius' chambers, neither witch nor warlock was peacefully sleeping anymore, both plagued by the Crystal and what it had shown them.


	12. The Fires Idirsholas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgana is poisoned and Ana sets a sword on fire.

"I'm a herder from the northern plains, Sire. Three nights back, we were camped beneath the walls of Idirsholas."

"I'm not sure I would've chosen such a place."

Behind the king, Ana leaned toward Gwen. "What's wrong with Idir-- Idiot-shawls or whatever?"

Gwen suppressed the urge to laugh. "People say it's cursed. There's a legend about it. When the fires of Idirsholas burn, the Knights of Medhir will ride again."

"Creepy," Ana said, shuddering. She turned back to the farmer that stood before the king.

"While we were there we, we saw smoke rising from the citadel."

"And did you see anything else?" Gaius asked.

"No."

"Did you go inside?" Uther asked.

"No. Nobody has stepped over that threshold for 300 years! You must know the legend, Sire."

Gaius repeated the words Ana had heard from Gwen moments ago.

"See to it this man is fed and has a bed for the night. Take a ride out there," he added to Arthur.

"Why?" the prince blurted.

"So we can put people's minds at rest."

Arthur glanced at the farmer as he left. "Surely this is superstitious nonsense?"

"Gather the guard and do as I say."

Huffing to himself, Arthur left, beckoning for Ana to follow. Unlike the prince, Ana made no attempt to hide her contempt at what was asked of her. Walking behind Arthur, she tried to listen to the conversation Merlin was no doubt having with Gaius. The old man's voice floated in her head as she walked.

_It's more than a story, Merlin. Some 300 years ago, seven of Camelot's knights were seduced by a sorcerer's call. One by one, they succumbed to her power. At her command, they became a terrifying and brutal force that rode through the lands leaving death and destruction in their wake._

Thankfully, Merlin voiced Ana's question. _What happened?_

_It was only after the sorcerer herself was killed that the Knights of Medhir finally grew still. Merlin, if what Joseph says is true, then something has awoken them, and I fear for each and every one of us._

"Where are we going, my lord?"

"You're persistent and you drive me insane. I've got a gift for you."

Ana thought the combination of statements didn't quite fit, but she wasn't about to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Arthur paused at the stables. "So there's this horse we found wandering along the outskirts of Camelot. The horse won't stop making noise and keeps kicking everyone. Happy birthday."

Ana wanted to grumble that it wasn't her birthday at all, but in truth, she would never know. "So let me run this by you for clarification. There's a problematic horse in there that you're saying belongs to me?"

"In a nutshell. Yes. Maybe if you spend all your time trying to calm the horse down, you won't have time to tag along with Merlin and me."

"Sweet," Ana said, pushing the door open, "I'm gonna call him -- err . . . Arthur? None of them look problematic."

Arthur stepped into the barn and pointed out the only horse that was asleep. "I have never felt anything towards anyone more potent than the pity I feel for you when you wake the horse up. Well, good luck. Merlin and I will leave within the hour."

Cautiously, Ana walked up to the charcoal horse. Slowly, she reached out to run her hand down the horse's face. The horse opened its eyes slowly before standing up. Ana stood as well. Something about the horse was familiar. "Talini Mila."

The horse nudged Ana gently.

"Is that it? Is that your name?" Ana laughed when the horse nudged her again, seeming quite affectionate. "Arthur thinks we're both problematic when all we do is show that we care. You don't like Arthur, do you, Mila?"

Ana laughed as the petulant horse shook her head. "What if I took you out riding? I'm sure Arthur and Merlin can handle this adventure on their own."

Mila seemed quite pleased with the idea.

* * *

When Ana and Mila returned to the stables, they returned to a kingdom that was fast asleep.

 _Camelot is defenseless_.

Merlin's voice sounded rather dejected. But at least he was awake. He must've been talking to someone, so Ana concluded that Arthur must be awake too.

Ana dismounted and guided Mila back into the stable. "Stay here," she told the horse softly before leaving. She snuck around to the front and witnessed a group of knights in the darkest armour she'd ever seen ride up to the castle and dismount in the square. As they passed by, she counted eight. Seven of the riders were unreadable, but the eighth, the leader, Ana sensed a familiarity about her. Ana followed behind slowly.

She picked up the sword of a sleeping knight as she passed. "Sorry, I just need to borrow this."

When she next looked up, the leader had removed her helmet. "Morgause," Ana whispered, ducking behind a pillar as the blonde led her army of seven forward.

"The Knights of Medhir. . ."

She followed the knights until they reached the throne room, all seven of them bulging against the doors.

"Well, this looks like fun. Who wants to play?!"

It worked, to some degree, and three of the knights charged at Ana. She knew she could not kill them, so her plan was to knock them out the window. The time it took for them to reach the throne room again would give her a window to breathe.

Inside the throne room, Arthur and Merlin leaned against the door.

"It's suicide!" Merlin cried.

Arthur opened his mouth to answer, but the force against the door had grown significantly less.

Then they heard a familiar voice.

"Three down, four to go!" Ana laughed. "Who wants to fly out the window next?"

"And you think _I'm_ suicidal," Arthur told Merlin. "Bar the door once I get out."

Merlin nodded. "Try not to die."

"If I need a servant in the next life--"

"Don't ask me!"

Arthur laughed and slipped outside, leaving Merlin to bar the door once again. Arthur was surprised to find Ana battling two of the undead knights.

"Have a good nap, my lord?"

"I don't know. I've been seeing some terrible knight-mares."

Ana laughed and moved around, leaving the two knights to Arthur, while she attacked Morgause.

"How lovely to see you again," Ana said politely before bringing her sword down.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine," Morgause said, fighting back with her magic.

Arthur nearly disregarded the knights to hand Ana his sword when Morgause took it right from Ana's hands, but the young maid didn't seem bothered, fighting with the same determination with her stolen dagger. Arthur continued Ana's plan, knocking the knights out the windows.

Quite suddenly, Morgause stopped, and Ana nearly ran herself through on the sword that Morgause dropped a second later.

The witch's hand held her throat, and Ana wondered if she would manage to kill Morgause. She missed her window a second later when Morgause turned and blew the doors open, nearly breaking them.

Ana snatched up the sword and rushed in. She brought it down in front of Morgause, stopping her from reaching the young woman on the floor with Merlin. Morgause reached out to push the sword away. Ana gripped it with both hands and the blade caught fire. "Don't move."

"What have you done to her?" Morgause cried.

"I had to," Merlin said.

"You poisoned her!"

"You gave me no choice."

"Tell me what you used and I can save her."

"First, stop the attack!"

"You're nothing but a simple servant! You don't tell me what to do!"

"If you want to know what poison it is, you will undo the magic that drives the knights!"

"Tell me the poison or you'll die!" Morgause stepped forward. Ana gripped the sword tighter and the flames grew both higher and hotter.

"Then she'll die with me," Merlin said, "I don't want this any more than you, but you give me no choice. Stop the knights and you can save her."

With no other choice, Morgause recited a spell. Ana heard the knights fall. Merlin waved Ana down and handed Morgause a hemlock bottle. Ana refused to move too far away from Morgause, still holding the flaming sword up. Morgause rushed to Morgana's side and knelt beside her.

"That's it?" Ana asked, "you're going to let her take Morgana?"

Arthur burst in with a number of Camelot knights. The flames on Ana's sword went out.

"What have you done with my father?"

"He's safe!" Merlin said.

Some distance away, Uther awoke.

"Morgana!" Arthur cried, upon noticing the woman.

"Keep away from her!" Morgause yelled. She shouted a spell, and both women disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Ana left Gaius to console Merlin and walked the prince to his chambers.

"How many times, Ana?"

"Hm?"

"How many times are you going to do this?"

"I don't follow, my lord."

"You p--" Arthur stopped and decided the conversation was better had behind closed doors. Once he closed his chamber doors behind Ana, he continued. "You practice magic in front of me, then somehow, you wipe the memory. How many times will you do it?"

"As many times as is necessary, my lord."

"What are you talking about? Every single time I've caught you, you've been using it to do something good. Finding Morgana when she was first kidnapped by the druids, Gwen when she was taken prisoner by Halig, killing Aredian, Lady Vivian, the Bastet, the troll, the entire debacle with the Crystal of Neahtid, all things you've had your magical hand in and when I caught you, you put me to sleep and I wake up not remembering it."

"So why do you remember now?"

"Perhaps there comes a time when old memories resurface."

"I hope so," Ana sighed.

"What?"

"I've lost memories too, you know. I just wish I knew what they were, or how to get them back. Anyway, it's not you I don't trust, it's your father."

"You lost me."

"Your father hates magic with every bone in his body."

"I'm sure if he sees all that you've done --"

"He'll have me burnt and you'll wish you were at the stake with me. He will continue to indoctrinate you against magic, I can't have you outing me in what you assume to be good faith. I don't trust your father. I'm sorry."

Arthur sighed. "Are you ever going to let me remember long enough to properly thank you?"

"Maybe when you're king," Ana said with a smile, leading Arthur to his bed. "Maybe, when you're king, I'll tell you everything. Until then . . . sleep, Arthur Pendragon."

* * *

"When will you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

Ana watched Gwen pack her few dishes away. She fiddled with the side of her cloak, bunching it up in her hands. She suddenly let go of it. "My name."

"It's like I told you before, Ana. Your name is a key to a lock that has yet to present itself."

"And when will that be?"

"When it is safe for you to practice your magic. When it is safe for everyone to practice magic. When there is no danger of losing you to something as mundane as a mortal death. When --"

"A mortal death? Am I not mortal? Won't I eventually come to a mortal death?"

"Of course."

"Don't lie to me, Gwen," Ana whispered, stepping closer to the woman. "Keeping secrets is one thing. Fair enough, you claim that I told you to keep these secrets. I may not remember myself, but I know that I would never tell someone to lie to me."

"You _are_ mortal, Ana," Gwen said, "and you will remain so until you hear your name."

"Are there others that know my name?"

"There shouldn't be. There are those who know you, but they shouldn't know your name. It's not something you gave out."

"Someone called me Salvador. It's happened twice. Why?"

"That would be because it's your name. Not your full name, certainly not your first. It was the name you were given when you were taken in. Think of it as a title. Saviour sounds rather interesting, don't you think?"

"I was taken in?"

"Yes. A woman took you in, cared for you until you could stand firmly on your own two feet. She gave you your gifts, all of them."

Ana thought about when she had held the Crystal of Neahtid. "Did I have a sister? A woman with dark hair?"

Gwen laughed. " _A_ sister? You have brothers and sisters more than anyone I've ever known. None of you related by blood, but by a bond much stronger. Your mother bestowed gifts upon each of you, no one more special than the others, despite what the difference in your abilities may say. But you . . . you were _born_ special. She knew you were special when she took you in."

"The gifts she gave . . . was any one of them gifted immortality?"

"Ana. You _are_ mortal. You _will_ understand when the time comes. I promise."

"I'll wait, then."


	13. The Last Dragonlord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon learns about Ana's secrets.

"We've no clean water left," Gwen said.

Ana shook herself out of Arthur's head and faced Gwen. "You can't go out there. It's too dangerous."

The sounds of chaos descended upon the infirmary as the dragon rained hell on Camelot. Gwen headed for the doors anyway.

"Gwen! Get back--"

One of the injured grabbed Ana's arm, and unwillingly, Ana left Gwen to tend to the man.

Outside, in the square, Arthur noticed Gwen drawing water from the well. "Gwen?"

He glanced up as the dragon began to turn for another attack. "Guinevere!"

Gwen glanced to the sky and noticed the dragon headed towards her. She ran. Arthur ran to help. The Dragon swooped at them, catching Arthur's shoulder.

In the infirmary, Ana hissed and quite nearly collapsed. Gaius forced her to sit down and immediately began treating the sudden wound. "Arthur. . ."

"Arthur has Merlin," Gaius said, "you sit quietly for a moment."

Gwen, Arthur, and Merlin entered a second later. Ana hissed again as she forced her wound closed and threw a shawl over her stained dress.

"Not a scratch!" Gwen exclaimed once Arthur had removed his armour and shirt. "I could've sworn you were hurt."

"Huh," Ana whispered to herself. She got up and walked over to Merlin and Gaius.

"Are you hurt?" Gaius asked.

Merlin shook his head. "There's nothing I can do. My magic is no good. It doesn't work."

"Dragons aren't monsters. They're creatures of wonder and magic. You must realise that they're immune to your powers."

"Let me try," Ana said.

"The dragon is immune to our magic, Ana."

Ana shook her head at Gauis. "I don't plan on using your magic. I plan on using mine."

Before either could stop her, Ana left the infirmary. Gaius stopped Merlin. "Stay with Arthur."

Merlin popped his head out the door and scanned the square for Ana. She had vanished.

In truth, Ana had not vanished. She had merely pulled her hood up and closed the front of her cloak, rendering her invisible to the naked eye. She stood in the centre of the square, watching the dragon circle the sky.

"Kilgharrah!"

The dragon ignored her, so she turned and ran to the castle wall, taking to scaling it. She made it up to the roof and stood tall, not daring to look down. The wind whipped her cloak and hair in every direction.

"Kilgharrah! Stop this!"

The dragon roared and turned to her. Ana lifted one hand, creating an invisible barrier between herself and Kilgharrah that he flew right into. "You're killing innocent people."

"Camelot will pay for what it has done to me."

" _Camelot_ never harmed you." Ana had to concentrate all her magic into her hands to bind the dragon mid-air. "Camelot has only ever looked after me. Our battle is with one man. Why destroy everyone in your path?"

Kilgharrah grunted as he strained against Ana's magic. For the first time, Ana's vision was tinted around the edges with a slight golden hue as she used her magic. Her eyes glowed the colour of Merlin's when the warlock practised his magic -- tenfold. She had the potential to be blinding at that moment. Kilgharrah roared and breathed a stream of fire her way. Ana's cloak bubbled around her. Furious, the dragon fought her restraints even harder. Ana's eyes glowed brighter as she focused more energy into the bindings.

She'd forgotten about the dragon's tail, and by the time she noticed it coming, it was too late. The bindings fell with Ana as she rolled off the roof -- and into Arthur's arms.

"You have explaining to do."

Ana only sighed and allowed herself to slip into the rest she so desperately needed.

* * *

". . . the dead number forty-nine men, twenty-seven women, a further eighteen women and children are unaccounted for. Most of last night's fires are now out. The castle walls, in particular, the western section are near to collapse, I could go on."

Ana squinted in the sunlight falling on her face. She turned her head and noticed a number of hazy figures surrounding a table.

"Do we have any further idea of how the beast escaped?" Uther asked as Ana slowly sat up and blinked even slower. Gaius noticed her.

"I regret to say, sire," Leon said, "we don't."

"There must be some way to rid ourselves of this aberration. Gaius?"

Gaius snapped his gaze from Ana to the king. "We need a dragonlord, Sire."

Arthur caught the movement and glanced back at Ana, who was now blinking slowly at the floor.

"You know very well that's not an option," Uther told Gaius.

"Sire, what if . . . there was, indeed, one last dragonlord left?"

"That's not possible."

"But if there was," Gaius insisted.

"What are you saying?"

"It may just be a rumour."

"Go on."

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think his name is Balinor."

"Balinor?" Uther echoed.

Arthur snapped his own gaze from Ana to Gaius. "Where does he live?"

"He was last seen in Cenred's kingdom in the border town of Enged, but that was many years ago."

"If this man still exists, then it is our duty to find him."

"Our treaty with Cenred no longer holds," Uther said, "we are at war. If they discovered you beyond our border, they would kill you."

"I will go alone."

Ana caught the statement and nearly scoffed. Arthur never went anywhere without Merlin.

"No," Uther said.

"That way I will not be detected."

"No, Arthur. It is too dangerous."

"More dangerous than staying here? I'll not stand by and watch my men die when I have the chance to save them."

"I have given you my orders."

"Do not make this a test of wills, Father."

"I'm not talking to you as a father, I'm talking to you as a king!"

"I will ride immediately."

"My concern is for you."

Arthur stared at his father. "Mine is for Camelot. I'll send word when I've found him." Arthur turned to Merlin. "Prepare the horses."

He glanced back to find Ana watching him. He nodded his head to the doors and she understood.

The three left the chamber. Arthur stopped outside. "Merlin, make sure you have a horse for Ana as well. She will be joining us with my permission this time."

Frowning briefly, Merlin nodded. "Yes, sire."

"Ana, come with me." Shrugging at Merlin, Ana followed Arthur to his chambers. 

"Do you know what a dragonlord is, Ana?" Arthur asked after he closed the doors.

"No. Should I?"

"People, men, who could speak to dragons."

"So, they could communicate with the dragons?"

"Yes," Arthur said, "but they could also tame the dragons. According to what I know, a dragon cannot refuse a dragonlord what he asks. Kind of like what you did earlier."

"I'm not a dragonlord, Arthur," Ana laughed, "that's ridiculous. You just said they're men."

"I saw you," Arthur hissed, stepping towards Ana with the intent to threaten her, "I caught you. Despite what you think of me, I'm not an idiot. Do you know how I knew you were up there? You were glowing. Glowing, Ana. Like the damn sun. You bound the dragon in the air. Don't you dare lie to me."

Ana folded her arms. "What proof do you have. You can claim all you like that you saw me practice magic, but who's going to believe you? It's your word against mine, and while you may be the Crown Prince, I'm the one Camelot adores."

"You conceited little -- if you can bind the dragon, we don't need to go hunting a rumour."

Ana shook her head. "Even if you were right, I wouldn't be able to. Binding a dragon takes a vast amount of power. I would be able to do it for three seconds and no longer."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine. But you're sniffing out the Dragonlord. After that, we're going to have a nice discussion about you and your dragon-binding abilities."

"I cannot."

"What? Now you _don't_ want to follow Merlin and I? _Now_ , when I say you should?"

Ana nodded. "I must remain here. What little I _can_ do to stop the dragon, I must do it. You go, you find this dragonlord, you bring him back to Camelot. Then we will have a nice discussion about me and my dragon-binding abilities."

Arthur frowned. "Fine. As soon as this dragon is wrapped up, I'm going to find you."

Ana smiled as Arthur turned to leave. "No, you won't," she whispered.

Arthur stopped in the doorway. "I wanted to ask you something," he said, glancing back.

"You did. You asked me to look out for Gwen."

Arthur scoffed. "I don't think so," he said, comically denying the accusation as he left.

Ana smiled and shook her head. Then she left to find Gaius.

* * *

"Merlin is upset," Ana noted.

"Indeed."

"You know why?" she asked, turning to Gaius.

"I have kept secrets, my child. The dragonlord, Balinor, is his father. He is on a hunt to search for his own father."

Ana watched as Merlin and Arthur finally disappeared. "Perhaps I should have gone with."

"Perhaps, but we need you too. Where you go and where you stay is your decision."

Gaius turned to leave, and Ana stood for a moment longer, waiting for Kilgharrah to strike.

The dragon struck that night. Despite protests from Gwen and Gaius, Ana fled the infirmary. Hiding from the knights, she slipped into the palace and made her way up to the battlements. 

"Hold!" Leon cried to the knights down below. "Hold . . . Hold! Now!"

The knights released a stream of attacks on Kilgharrah, who undoubtedly fired back. While Ana knew containing the dragon would do no good without someone to slay the beast, she could protect the knights. Acting on impulse, Ana's hands moved in the air before pushing outwards. The flames hit an invisible wall and rose far higher than the battlements. Leon turned around, looking up when he found nothing behind him. The glowing figure at the battlements nearly blinded him. He chose not to say a word. If it was magic, the magic was protecting him, his knights, the palace and the infirmary. He would not incarcerate the one providing safety. 

In his chambers, Uther watched as the flames subsided and rained down on the knights again. He narrowed his eyes as once again, the flames rose without touching the knights. He narrowed his eyes, watching the same thing happen a third time.

* * *

When morning came, Ana found herself weak and dizzy.

"Gaius! Gaius, have you got something for horrible dizzy spells?"

Gaius rifled through his box. "I've got the same tonic I gave you yester -- oh dear."

"What?" Ana asked, lazily rubbing her eyes.

"You're bleeding!"

"I'm what?" Ana glanced back at the thick blanket she'd slept on. "Ah, fart-blossoms! I'll have to wash that!"

No stranger to Ana's odd replacements for curses, Gaius didn't even acknowledge it. "Let me see your shoulder."

Ana pulled her braid over her other shoulder as Gaius pulled the back of her blouse down. "Is it bad?"

"It's the same as before. The same wound the dragon gave Arthur."

"The one I closed . . . but it didn't work long."

"A temporary reprieve and I'm afraid that's all I can give you. Trust in them to find Balinor. I know he will help Arthur. Once he closes Arthur's wound, you'll be able to close your own for good."

Ana sighed and stood up, grabbing a bandage. "Great. Just what I need right now," she muttered sarcastically.

"Ask Gwen to help you, if she's not busy," Gaius said as someone was helped into the infirmary. "And get some rest!"

After seeking Gwen's help in binding the wound, Ana did as Gaius said and slept. She slept soundly through the day and the night. She woke with a start to the sounds of screaming. After calming herself, she realised Kilgharrah had struck once more. "A day in the life of Ana," she mumbled, slipping out of the infirmary.

From his window, Uther watched once again. Leon thanked heaven above for whatever guardian angel stood in the battlements. Ana spent herself barring the castle from the dragon and once Kilgharrah retired for the night, she collapsed on the battlements.

When she woke in the morning, it wasn't in the infirmary. She expected to still feel the effects of Arthur's wound, but she felt nothing. In fact, she felt better now than she had in the last seven days. He frowned as she realised she had been asleep in Arthur's chambers. "What. . .?"

Someone moved slightly. Ana snapped her head to the source of the soft shuffle. "Leon? What am I doing here? My bed's beside Gwen's in the infirmary."

Leon shrugged. "I figured you deserved a good night's rest after all you've done."

"After all I've done? Why, I've barely done what Gaius has --"

"I'm not talking about the infirmary, Ana."

Ana frowned for a second before she understood. Slowly, she walked up to him. "Leon, I'm sorry for--"

"No!" Leon shouted, moving away from Ana, closing his eyes and sticking his fingers in his ears. "No, you can't make me forget. Every single time Arthur's said to me that he thinks you've got magic, every time he's come to speak to you, he ends up taking a nap and forgetting what he intended to ask. If I mention it, he laughs and says the mere idea is ludicrous. No, whatever you're doing to Arthur, I won't let you do it to me. I won't."

Ana smiled as she walked up to Leon and gently moved his hands down. He opened his eyes warily.

"First of all, it wouldn't matter that you've closed your eyes and your ears. The spell would put you to sleep anyway."

She turned and walked back to the bed to pick up her cloak. "I only put him to sleep because it's much easier to pull particular memories from a calm and resting mind. It's a dangerous game to play, fiddling with memories, but I've done it for my safety and the safety of those who have magic. I can't let you remember, Leon, it--"

"It wouldn't matter," Leon said, "please. The idea of you having and using magic makes so much sense to me. If you were to make me forget, I know I'd go back to being confused. I know I would still suspect you of using magic, but I won't remember that you were the one who saved us from the dragon every night so far. Do you really want me to be suspicious of you when I'm meant to be grateful."

Ana smiled and shook her head. "You're not meant to be grateful. You're not even meant to know."

"But I do and I am. Just know that if you do this, when I figure out that you did, I'll hate you."

"You won't remember long enough to hate me."

"I'm not Arthur. I don't open my mouth all the time."

Ana studied Leon. "Why do you want to remember?"

"I want to know who I have to thank that I'm still here. I want to know who I have to thank that our prince is still alive. I want to know because I know that man couldn't tie his own belt without Merlin. Besides, who am I going to tell? It's your word against mine, and you're the one Camelot adores."

Ana laughed. "That's what I told Arthur!"

Leon smiled slightly. "I take it this means you won't make me forget?"

Ana tilted her head. "I trust you, Leon. I don't know why. I always have."

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have more secrets to share?"

"Well, I'd tell you Arthur's in love with Gwen, but everyone already knows that."

"True. So, what were you doing last night? What kind of magic was it? Did you create a wall? A shield? Is it specifically fireproof? Or would it have kept the dragon back if it tried to come closer?"

"Slow down! One at a time, Leon."

Leon occupied Ana the entire day, asking her question upon question about the art of magic. Some she had no answers for, such as where she learnt hers, when she began to learn, why she could face the dragon when she explicitly stated that normal magic could not, among others.

When night came and the dragon returned, Leon had the knights convinced that they would be safer within the infirmary, as it seemed to have some kind of protective dome. He followed Ana up to the battlements.

"You are persistent, witch."

Her confidence boosted by the more fact that Leon was amazed and up there to watch her because he wanted to see her work, she scoffed. "Oh, you wish I were a mere witch."

"You will die," Kilgharrah promised.

"Everyone dies someday," Ana replied.

Kilgharrah reeled back, preparing the flames.

Leone watched Ana's hands move as they began to glow golden. She pushed both hands outwards. Leon saw ripples spread across the sky just as the flames left the dragon's mouth. The flames hit Ana's shield. She focused more power into the shield. The light around her hands glowed brighter, travelling up her arms. Leon shielded his eyes as the dragon tried a second time and Ana's whole body began to glow. When the light faded, the dragon was gone.

"That was incredible."

Ana smiled. "Thank you," she managed, before passing out. Thanks to Leon, she didn't slump on the floor this time.

When Ana woke in Arthur's chambers again, she wasn't surprised.

"Leon, you can't bring me here all the time."

"Why not? Now that I've personally seen your magic up close, how drained you are, shielding us every night, I'm even more convinced you deserve a few nights in a bed like this."

Ana sighed as she sat up. "You're going to get us in trouble."

"Just wiggle your fingers and make whoever catches you forget."

"It's not that simple to play with the mind using magic, Leon. Now, words, on the other hand, they're fun to use."

Leon walked up to Ana, her cloak in hand. "So the cloak is magic too?"

"Appears so. I use it for disguise and for hiding in plain sight."

"How does it work?"

"I'm not sure," Ana said, frowning as she began to tie the strings.

Leon had barely formed the first word of his next question when Ana doubled over. The cloak fell to the ground as she hugged herself, gasping for air she couldn't find.

"Ana!"

"Merlin," she whispered, "he's hurt."

Leon searched Ana for any signs of wounds, and an indication that she bled anywhere, any sight of a bone not sitting right, and found nothing. She clutched Leon's sleeve and inhaled sharply. "I have felt this exactly once," she hissed, "and it was when Freya was killed."

"Freya. . .?"

"Someone Merlin deeply loved." Ana gasped again, but not because she could not breathe. _Balinor is dead_.

* * *

When Arthur and Merlin arrived in Camelot, Ana was in the War room with Gaius, holding on to Leon to keep herself steady. Uther had noticed the pair grow suddenly closer, but he chose to overlook it. It mattered not to him what Ana was up to. Asking her didn't help when she never gave him a straight answer.

As soon as the doors opened, Ana left Leon to hold Merlin. The hug was brushed aside as relief at having him return to Camelot alive and well.

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

"I tried," he whispered into her braid, "I tried to save him."

While Arthur spoke about slaying the dragon themselves, Ana snuck Merlin out of the room and down to Gaius' chambers. She sat at the and of the stretcher as Merlin laid on it, his head resting on her leg. She threaded her fingers through his hair as she watched him turn a wooden dragon over in his hands. "I know you tried, Merlin. I've not felt that kind of grief since --"

"Since Freya," Merlin mumbled. "I couldn't save him."

"Everyone has to go someday, Merlin. We can't choose our time and we can't change life and death for others. There is a heavy price for magic as cursed as that. No human could ever hope to survive playing with that kind of magic. I'm glad you at least met your father."

"I knew him less than a day, Ana."

"I know, love. I know how it hurts. Trust me."

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts you too when--"

"You have nothing to apologise for, Merlin. What you can do is stay with me, talk to me, let me help you. That's the only way it'll get better. There's no magic to cure heartbreak like this."

Gaius eventually found Ana leaning against the bookshelf, fingers tangled in Merlin's hair. In Merlin's hand sat the wooden dragon, fingers loosely curled around it. Both were asleep.

Merlin woke up, startled. Upon noticing Gaius, he carefully distanced himself from Ana and set her down to properly sleep on the stretcher.

"What happened?" Gaius asked.

"I couldn't save him," Merlin said. His voice was barely above a whisper and so full of exhaustion.

"Merlin."

"He said the dragonlord's gift is passed from father to son."

"That is true."

"When I faced the Great Dragon, my magic was useless."

"Your father wasn't dead. It's only then you can inherit his powers."

"Do you think I'm strong enough to stand up to him?"

"Only time will tell."

* * *

Ana was appalled. "You faced the dragon without me?!" she cried, glaring at Arthur and Merlin.

Leon smiled, knowing she probably had wanted to be there more than the dragon himself.

Clicking her tongue, Ana went to hug Arthur first. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't get yourself killed."

Arthur laughed. "Me? Killed? Ha! Imagine that!"

Ana rolled her eyes as Arthur left. After facing the dragon -- and he would have lost had it not been for Merlin -- Ana understood his need for a celebration. Alone in the square once even Gaius had left, Ana smiled at Merlin.

"What's it like to be a dragonlord?"

"I'm still figuring it out. What's it like to not be a dragonlord and still manage to bind a dragon?"

"You saw that?"

"I heard about it. Arthur saw it. I assume you wiped his memory?"

"I did. You feel better."

Merline smiled, glancing up to the sky. "I know who he is now, who he was. I could feel him there with me, against the dragon. I knew him for such a short time, but I know he will be with me forever."

Ana hugged Merlin. "I'm glad you didn't die either."

The pair turned and headed back towards the castle, unaware of Uther's gaze on them.

* * *

"Quiet, Chrys! You'll wake her!"

"We bloody well should wake her. She shouldn't even be stuck down here. All she did was fall in love."

"She fell in love with a life she was never meant to have. Mother warned her of it. She could have chosen to return."

"You're one of Mother's pets, Zin, you wouldn't understand."

"Indeed. I'm eternally gratefully that my name can barely be pronounced, let alone spelt, _Chrysanthemum_."

"That's rich, coming from a glorified forget-me-not."

"Zinnia is a beautiful name. Have you brought the orb from her box?"

"Mother would have us banished for meddling in our sister's life, you know."

"Not if Mother never finds out which one of us visited leave it. Besides, we could always blame it on Lori."

"Quick, cloak it. She's waking!"

"Says the one who wanted her to wake, Chrys."

"I love my sister, but I love for her to have freedom more than I love for her to know me. Come, she mustn't see us."

Groaning, Ana sat up. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around the dark room. "What a strange dream," she murmured, still seeing two women speak with one another, one with flowing red tresses, the other with barely any dark hair left on her head. Yawning, she laid back down and got ready to fall back into sleep. She paused as something glittered in the minuscule moonlight. The glass ball shimmered when she picked up the necklace.

Where had it come from?


End file.
